The Walking Dead - Bleached
by Arrancon
Summary: Ichigo Kurosaki, formerly the Subsitute Soul Reaper of the Soul Society, has awoken into a world ruled by the undead. But he is not alone. Now, he, his family, and his friends must survive against the walking dead, corrupted living, and perhaps each other. Story based loosely on the hit T.V show and comics. OC present. Rated M for strong language and graphic violence.
1. Chapter 1 - Days Gone By

**Hello Fanfiction!** **This here is the first story I have ever started writing for fun ever, so I apoligize if it sucks. A few disclaimers before reading:**

**- This story takes place in an alternate timeline of the Bleach universe, after Ichigo finishes training with the Visards, and before going he goes to Hueco Mundo to save Orihime. **

**- It _is not_ an exact retelling of the events of The Walking Dead with Bleach characters. So don't expect it to be word for word or action for action. **

**- The story's timeline will have events from The Walking Dead T.V show and the comics mixed together. So if you only watch the show, or only read the books, some events may not be familiar to you. A few events are originals by me.**

**- As for which character from Bleach is representing whom from The Walking Dead, you'll have to figure that out yourself. Don't worry, its not too hard.**

**- There will be one original character down the road. He's no Mary Sue/Bobby Stu kind of guy though, not even close...**

**- The story's rating will increase quickly. You can't really have a kid friendly zombie story, can you?**

**Alright, that's all I have to say! Read and Enjoy!**

* * *

_"If the world stopped spinning tomorrow,_

_I'll never shed a tear,_

_I'd rather be anywhere, anywhere,_

_Anywhere but here..."_

* * *

*_GASP_!*

The room was quiet. All was still, except for the dripping of an I.V tube, which lay beside the arm of a now conscious Ichigo Kurosaki, who's short, quick breaths broke the silence. The Substitute Soul Reaper glanced around the empty room, dazed and confused. Everything looked fuzzy and unclear, as if he had been drugged.

'_Where am I_?' was the first thing that came to his mind, but quickly realized he was in a recovery room. Still disoriented, Ichigo made a quick self-checkup to make sure everything was still present. He looked down towards feet; they were still there.

'_Good,_' he thought, '_At least I'll be able to walk_'. The hands were next. Slowly, he curled his fingers into a fist, a sharp, tingling sensation going up through his arms as he did so. An uncomfortable feeling, but at least they weren't broken. The same sensation occurred again when he lifted his arms. Ichigo looked over his chest, searching for wounds, and noticed a very crudely stitched scar over his heart.

"What happened to me…" he whispered. Ichigo was now sitting on the side of the hospital bed, rubbing his forehead as if it would help recall the events that led up to this. Using the cabinet beside the bed, he lifted himself up, and stood weakly. He needed something to help him stand, like a cane, or Zangetsu, or…

"Zangetsu!" Ichigo thought aloud as he frantically scanned the room for his zanpaku-to. It was nowhere in sight.

'_Whoever took Zangetsu is gonna pay. Oh yes, they will pay…' _As he thought of ways he could torture the thief, Ichigo then realized he may not be alone. There was only one way to find out.

"Hello?" he rasped. No response. "Hello, is anybody here? HELLO?"

Since no one seemed to be around, Ichigo figured the best thing to do was to search around.

'_If no one wants to answer me'_ he thought, '_I'll just go find them_ _**myself**_!' After slowly pacing the length of the room to regain strength in his legs, he walked over to the door, turned the knob, and slowly began to open the door, when-

"_**What the-MMMPH!"**_

_*SLAM!*  
_

The smell that shoved its fist right up Ichigo's nose was the most putrid, vile scent he had ever encountered. Think of the foulest thing you have smelled in your life, throw it in a sewage treatment plant, and multiply the odor by a hundred; it still would not be as bad as what the poor Substitute Sour Reaper encountered when opening that door. He was NOT going back into that hallway, even if Aizen would appear behind him that very second and he would be forced to use the "hall of death" as an escape route. His only other exit was the window. Grabbing the laptop from the doctor's desk, Ichigo took a few steps back, spun twice, and flung the machine straight at the glass.

*_SHATTER_*

"Hope nobody minds the damage," Ichigo said to himself as he climbed out the window. Looking down, he saw that he wasn't quite as high up as he thought.

'_At least I'm on the second floor_!' he cheerfully thought. It was a foggy morning, so he figured he should just kind of slide out of the window and hope to land on something soft. Falling two stories to the ground, he landed right in the hedges below, which actually hurt more than he thought they would. Rolling out of the shrubbery and onto the sidewalk, he got back on his feet and turned around. What he saw next through the clearing fog can be simply described with one word: **Armageddon.**

A tipped ambulance was only a few feet away, flames spewing out of the open doors. A small pileup of cars was also burning, as well as a bicycle, of all things. Trash, more like quickly discarded possessions, littered the parking lot. A small stuffed lion lay face down near Ichigo's feet that looked very familiar to the Substitute Soul Reaper.

'_Oh no, please, __**please**__ don't be him…_' was all he could think. With shaking hands he picked up the plush, and slowly turned it over to look at its face. Thankfully it wasn't Kon – that little pervert would never wear bright green buttons as eyes. A smile of relief appeared on Ichigo's face, as he tossed the stuffed lion onto the pavement. His relief soon disappeared as his other friends came to mind, their faces flashing through his mind.

"Rukia…" he breathed, his fists clenched.

"Uryu…" His knuckles began to crack.

"Orihime.." The muscles in his legs went weak again.

"My **family!"**

Ichigo was now on his knees, hands to his face, holding back tears. Others appeared in his mind, but he couldn't stop his thoughts.

'_Wake up Ichigo, wake__** UP**_!" But he didn't. This was real. Everyone he knew could be dead right now. Not Soul Reaper dead. **Permanently** dead. He brought his hands down from his face, looking up at the carnage, and then…

Then he saw it.

The thing was standing near the pileup of burning cars, unfazed by the heat. It was pale, hunched over, moaning, and looked like a small boy. The creature was short, only about half of Ichigo's height. Black hair covered its blue eyes, themselves empty of emotion and life. The thing was staring at Ichigo, drooling, with a starved look on its face. Ichigo stared back at it, eyes wide, not believing what he was looking upon. His mouth trembled as the thing took a step forward. It was a good ten feet away, but Kurosaki had no idea how fast it could possibly be. The more he looked at the creature, the more it looked familiar, like someone he knew. Realization finally hit him. The thing was wearing the robe of a Soul Reaper.

The thing was Hanatoro Yamada.

"H – Hanatoro?" Ichigo stammered. The creature responded with a raspy snarl, and quickly walked (rather, limped) towards him. Panic came over the substitute Soul Reaper. He crawled backwards, until he could feel the hedge's leaves on the back of his neck. Hanatoro was only a few feet away, close enough for Ichigo to kick him away. One solid boot to its stomach knocked the small monster onto its back.

'_I gotta do something_,' Ichigo thought, '_something that won't hurt him too much… wait_!" Remembering he was part Hollow, Kurosaki brought his hand to his face, and pulled his mask down.

Except that the mask didn't appear.

"Wh-what?" Ichigo stammered. First Zangetsu disappeared, and now his mask. In fact, he couldn't feel any spiritual pressure in him at all either. It was like he had been stripped of all his powers…

The Substitute Soul Reaper didn't have much time to ponder of what happened to his powers, because the thing that was once Hanatoro was on its feet again, coming towards him again. Out of options, Ichigo kicked at it again, but he missed his mark, and accidentally kicked Hanatoro in the leg, causing the infected medic to fall on top of him. Ichigo struggled to keep the thing from biting him, holding it by the throat, only a foot away from his face. Saliva dripped from Hanatoro's gaping mouth onto Kurosaki's clothes and face, its smell was enough to make him vomit.

'_It can't end like this, it __**can't**_!' was all Ichigo could think. His arms were becoming weak again, the muscles in them felt like jelly. Hanatoro's mouth was nearing Kurosaki's face, ready to begin its feast. Ichigo closed his eyes, knowing that death was coming ever so closer…

_*__**BANG!**__*  
_

His eyes opened. Ichigo recognized the sound of a gun, and immediately looked over at his infected friend. Hanatoro lay beside him, a raspy moan coming from its mouth, far from dead (well, double-dead). Once again, he set his sights on Ichigo and began to inch towards him.

_*__**BANG!**__*  
_

Fragments of pavement flew into the air, the gunman missing his mark. One particularly large piece of stone smacked Ichigo in the head; it was enough to send the Substitute Soul Reaper into unconsciousness. As he fell to the ground, all of his senses numbed, Ichigo thought he heard a small argument between what seemed to be a man and a small, somewhat bratty, child, standing a few feet away.

"You missed. **Twice.** I thought you said you had the shot."

"I_ did! _The biter was just moving too much! Besides, I hit it the first time. Not sure where though..."

"Whatever you say, _Lilynette…"_

_*__**BANG!**__*_

Then everything went black.

* * *

_**In memoriem:**_

_**Hanatoro Yamada**_

**_Poor guy never did amount to much..._**

_Quote taken from "Anywhere but Here" by Five Finger Death Punch._


	2. Chapter 2 - Revelations

**"**_The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend."_

* * *

"Hey Starrk, I think he's awake!"

Ichigo opened his eyes to see a small green haired girl inches away from his face. He was lying down on a bed (again), with three layers of covers thrown messily onto him. He sat upwards, looking at the dark room around him. There was one boarded up window, with a small hole drilled in the center, a perfect fit for a gun barrel. A candle flickered on a nearby desk, dangerously close to a pile of nature magazines, and a box of bullets lay by an unloaded revolver. A man was sitting at the desk, snoring, his feet propped up in comfort. Ichigo glanced back at the green haired girl, who happened to be holding his shoe in her hand. The look on her face was clearly of agitation.

"**Starrk! I said he's awake!" **the girl snarled while angrily pointing at the man with Ichigo's shoe. "**STARRK!"**

"Umm, little girl?" Ichigo said cautiously, "I think he wants to rest. Maybe you should – OWW!"

The shoe left a perfect imprint of its sole on Ichigo's cheek. The girl was now pointing his own footwear at him, less than an inch from his nose.

"Keep quiet, you! One more word an' I'll hit you with this again!" She was fuming now, her eyes set to kill. Ichigo couldn't believe it: this girl was scarier than Captain Kurotsuchi!

The desk chair creaked as the man awoke from his nap. He yawned, and then turned his head towards Ichigo and the girl. Looking at the awoken man with wide eyes, Ichigo's attacker tossed the shoe behind her innocently, and then gave her superior a sheepish smile. He was clearly angry, glaring at the green haired girl, rubbing his temple.

"What the hell are you doing, Lilynette?" he asked, still half-asleep.

The girl, Lilynette, snapped back, "I was trying to tell you this punk here is awake, but apparently you have selective hearing!"

"And why's that?"

"Because you don't hear me screaming at you, but you can hear me TAP HIS FACE WITH A SHOE!"

"You freakin' slapped me across the face with it!" Ichigo yelled at the child.

Lilynette snorted. "Says you."

"Shut up, both of you!"

The man was standing now, more agitated than before. Ichigo could see him clearly now: he was wearing a long green trench coat, a larger version of the girls. Underneath the coat the man wore a military vest, with the nametag of the soldier who previously owned it still present. A belt was tied around his waist, with two holsters, one empty, one not. The candlelight gleamed off the holstered revolver's barrel.

"Now," the man continued, looking at Ichigo, "I'd like to apologize on Lilynette's behalf, 'cause hell knows she won't do it."

"Never said I wouldn't…" muttered Lilynette.

A sharp glare from the man silenced the girl. Ichigo was surprised the little devil obeyed the man's every command; it was as if they were _connected_ somehow, much closer than family.

"As I was saying," the man said as he pulled the desk chair closer to Ichigo's bed, "I know who you are, _**Soul Reaper**_."

Ichigo looked at him, shocked. How'd this guy know who he was if they've never met before?

But first," the man continued, "I want to ask you one thing before we go any further, kid."

"Sure, what?" Kurosaki replied, still wondering how the man knew him.

The man leaned towards Ichigo, a serious look on his face.

"Were you bit?"

The Substitute Soul Reaper looked at him, confused. What was this guy talking about? Nervously, he replied:

"By what?"

The expression on the man's face didn't change.

"By the biter. Were you BIT?"

"Oh, you mean Hanatoro… no, I don't think so. I don't feel anything."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Jeez, what's it matter?" That last comment came off a little more annoyed than Ichigo had wished.

"'**Cause then you'll turn and kill us, dammit!" **

The man was holding Ichigo by the throat with one hand, the other reaching for his revolver. Lilynette was also glaring at Kurosaki, feeling just the same as her partner. Ichigo didn't want this to turn ugly.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry! Please, just don't shoot me. _Please_." The man released his grip after Kurosaki's last apology. Ichigo, rubbing his throat, leaned back onto the wall behind the bed. He wanted to know who this man was, and why the world had gone to hell.

"So, mind introducing yourself? And kindly telling me what the HELL is going on outside?"

"The name's Coyote Starrk," the man, who was now back to slouching in his chair, replied. "You should have known that the second Lilynette called me by name. Now, as for what happened out there," he gestured towards the boarded up window, "I don't even know. Six months ago something happened. News spread quickly, and I mean quick, of some infectious disease in the U.S, and then that said disease made its way to here."

"Where is 'here', exactly?" Ichigo asked out of curiosity.

"Not sure," Starrk replied, "Never really bothered to find out. One minute were coming out of a Garganta and the next we're… uh…"

The former Espada had only just then realized what he just said. Ichigo stared at him, eyes wide, and mouth slightly agape. Lilynette slowly face palmed; she needed no words to express how pissed she was at Starrk. He blew their cover, and now this Soul Reaper was going to kill them.

"You're – you're hollows?" Kurosaki stammered.

"Espada, actually." Starrk sighed. There was no use for secrets in this world.

"Then how do you know me?" Ichigo asked, "I've only met 3 Espada, and I sure as hell don't remember you." Ichigo asked.

"What, you don't think those three wouldn't have told the others about a red-headed human Soul Reaper?" Starrk retorted.

"Didn't really think of that…" said a slightly embarrassed Ichigo, who quickly changed the conversation. "So, what were you going to do after exiting the Garganta?"

"Alright, I'm just gonna be honest," Starrk started, "Us and the other Espada were sent here to the World of the Living by Sosuke Aizen in Gigai's to observe human behavior. Don't ask why, because there is no why. As soon as we set foot on solid ground, the Garganta behind us closes, and that bastard locks us out."

"Wait, why? Why would Aizen send you all here to die?" Ichigo interrupted.

"Just let me talk, kid. Apparently we're worthless to him. I had a bad feeling about the whole thing from the start. You know, Aizen putting us in these artificial bodies, ones we could be _hurt_ in, ones where we can't use any of our powers, ones we were secretly _locked_ in. As well as telling us to leave our swords, since this was a _peacefu_l mission. He never cared about 'human behavior' before either, why tell us to observe things we were just going to kill later on? But none of us were able to speak up, because Aizen's golden child Ulquiorra right away says, ***mocking voice***'_Oh, my lord, we live to serve you! I speak on behalf of all of these inferior Espada to say that we will go on this somewhat suspicious mission, without any thoughts of why you are sending us on it! Oh, bless us, Aizen, bless us!_'***end mocking voice*.** Let me tell you something else about that pasty faced freak-"

"Back on topic, Starrk."

"Yeah, yeah, Lilynette. Anyways, all of us Espada are standing here, wondering just what the hell just happened. Some of us, me included, knew that this was probably going to happen, so we keep cool. Others, namely Grimmjow and Nnoitora, are mad as hell at Aizen, and somehow take their anger out on each other with fists ablaze. Ulquiorra was actually surprised this shit happened. He just stood there, not saying a word. That's when one of those things got Barragan."

"Barragan?" Ichigo didn't recognize that name. He was also beginning to wonder why he was so curious about the Espada. These really were strange times…

"The second Espada. He and Aizen hated each other, to put it simply, which is probably why our former leader gave him a Gigai just as old as himself. The old coot didn't even see it coming. Half of a biter – literally, half of one – was lying by his leg. It looked dead enough; apparently, enough just isn't enough. It woke up and took a huge bite out of his thigh. Barragan's Gigai wasn't strong enough to keep him standing, and he fell to the ground, just as a pack of those things showed up. We left him, since none of us liked him that much to begin with, and he was a dead man. More of those things started showing up, and we all got separated. Lilynette and I here were with Grimmjow and another Espada named Hallibel for a while, but about a month ago we went our separate ways. Don't really know what happened to the others though. They could all be dead, for what we know. But Grimmjow definitely is, after those Soul Reapers took him in, hell, six months ago?"

"Did you say Soul Reapers?!" Ichigo couldn't believe it; some of his friends may still be alive! "How many were there? Who were they?"

"Whoa, calm down kid," Starrk said. "How could I know who they were? I never met them before."

"Well, describe them!" Ichigo urged.

"Well, from what I remember, there was a short, blacked haired girl. She was with a tall Latino and a little kid with white hair, from what I remember..."

"I know them!" Ichigo yelled with joy as he jumped out of the bed, knocking Starrk out of his chair. He could barely contain his excitement: Rukia, Chad, and Hitsugaya were alive! Well, maybe. Six months is lifetime in this world. One, or all, of them could be gone. He had to at least search for them, dead or alive.

Starrk was being hoisted back up onto his feet by Lilynette, even though he didn't need his other half's help, when he noticed Ichigo walking towards the door.

"Whoa, hold on there," the Espada called, "you're not ready to go outside yet."

"Why not?" The Substitute Soul Reaper asked as he looked back at Starrk.

"You seem to forget that it's a living hell out there. Also, I can tell you don't have any powers, just like me." The Espada was sitting down once again, with Lilynette at his feet. "If none of those other Soul Reapers had their powers, I'm guessing you don't either, right?"

Kurosaki felt somewhat embarrassed being corrected by the Espada, but was surprised that his friends were in the same weak condition as him.

"The others are powerless too?" Ichigo asked, "How do you know?"

"They were using guns instead of their Zanpaku-to. None of them tried using Kido or anything like that either. They must be trapped in their Gigais like me and Lilynette."

Ichigo walked back over to the bed, plopping back onto it. He couldn't hide in this shack forever, especially with these two. The fact that they were Arrancars was bad enough, but one being an Espada was as worse as it could get. Besides, his friends don't even know he's alive, meaning they weren't going to come looking for him. And the only way Ichigo had any chance out there was if he had a gun, something he had never used in his life. '_Guess there's a first time for everything_,' he thought.

He turned to the Espada, the latter drinking from a bottle of whiskey, while his younger partner eyed the alcohol with thirsty eyes.

"Teach me how to shoot."

The Espada looked at him from behind the bottle. Setting the alcohol down, he removed one of his revolvers from its holster and showed it to Ichigo.

"You ever fired one of these before?" Starrk had gone from laid back to serious in less than a second.

"Never even held one," Kurosaki responded, "but I know how they work. I just need some practice, and who better to ask than you to teach me?"

Starrk smirked. There was no way this kid would be harder to teach than Lilynette. He was more mature, much stronger, and a lot more determined to learn the way of the marksman. '_Damn_,' Starrk thought, '_teaching this kid might actually be enjoyable._'

"Alright," the Primero Espada announced, "I'll teach you. Be up first thing tomorrow morning at sunrise. Not many biters are out then. Perfect time to find a few individuals to shoot down."

"Thanks, Espada." Ichigo said with a smile, followed by a slight chuckle.

"What're you laughing about?" Starrk asked.

"Nothing," replied Ichigo, "just never thought I'd be thanking an Espada for anything."

The Espada smirked. A Soul Reaper thanking him? It really was the end of the world.

As Ichigo crawled back into his bed, Starrk loaded the revolver. After blowing out the candle on the desk, he pulled his chair over to the boarded up window. Starrk looked through the small hole in the wood, seeing if any biters were outside. For once, it was clear. For once, he could sleep in peace.

* * *

Ten minutes later…

"S-Starrk? This *hic* stuff tastes funny…"

"Mrrgh… give me the booze, Lilynette…"

* * *

_Quote by Abraham Lincoln._


	3. Chapter 3 - The Road to Nowhere

_"The future is no more uncertain than the present."_

* * *

The sun was shining, something Ichigo Kurosaki hadn't seen since he woke up in the hospital room ten days ago. Since then, everyday had been the same: wake up, practice shooting with the former Primero Espada Coyote Starrk and his other half Lilynette Gingerback (something the Substitute Soul Reaper still couldn't comprehend, no matter how many times Starrk explained it), salvage supplies and food, and return to bed. Golden rays covered the shack the trio had been living in, shining through every crack in the rickety old building's roof. Ichigo basked in their warmth as the sunlight warmed his bed. He looked down at his partners, who slept on the floor beside him. Lilynette was snuggled against her other half, who had fallen asleep with his face to the floor. Kurosaki smiled. Awake, the two Arrancars bickered continuously, as if they despised each other. Sleeping, he could see just how close they were. It was almost adorable…

"Well, time to piss." Ichigo whispered to himself.

He carefully slid out of the bed, trying not to wake up the sleeping Arrancars, and stepped over Starrk's legs. Ichigo walked over to the desk, looking for his weapon of choice; he couldn't relieve himself unarmed. The hammer he looted from the hardware store was the best choice, as a revolver was too loud and the hunting knife too small. Slipping the hammer into his bulletproof vest (taken from the corpse of a SWAT officer, washed thoroughly in a pond), Ichigo walked to the door and cautiously peeked through a small opening.

The area around the "pissing tree" (the name coined by Starrk for the large oak tree beside the shack) was clear. Kurosaki slipped out the door and made a beeline for the living urinal.

Standing there, Ichigo was thinking about his friends, and just when he would go searching for them. '_The sooner the better…_' thought Kurosaki, '_maybe tomorrow_.' He had been hesitating to tell his companions about leaving, and not just because he'd miss the company. If he was to go off on his own, something bad might happen, something he could need backup for. Besides, a few more days with them couldn't hurt.

Suddenly, the sound of scuffling of feet could be heard around him. Quicker than a hawk, Ichigo pulled the hammer from his vest, turned, and swung at the source.

"WHOA!" Starrk yelled as he raised his arms in defense. "It's just me, kid."

"Sorry about that," Ichigo apologized as he lowered the tool, "I thought you were a biter."

"Don't worry about it. You mind pulling your fly up?"

"Oh shit!"

*_ZIP_*

"Again, sorry."

"Stop apologizing so much, it makes you soft," Starrk snapped, "and can you move away from the pissing tree now? You aren't the only one who's gotta go."

Ichigo stopped himself before he could say the s – word, and walked back towards the shack. Looking out towards the woods, which were only a hundred yards away, he caught sight of something moving just at the forest line.

"Starrk, we got a biter!" Kurosaki yelled.

The Espada turned his head towards Ichigo, who was pointing at the woods.

"Wait until it gets closer, and then kill it," Starrk said as he finished his business. "Shooting at it will just attract more."

"Umm, I don't think we'll have to worry about that last part…"

Starrk soon saw what he meant, for as he turned his gaze towards the forest, there was no longer one biter:

There was at least fifty.

"Shit! Go in the shack, wake Lilynette, and gather as many supplies as you can, we're getting the hell outta here!" Starrk ordered Ichigo as he pulled out a box of matches.

"What are those matches for?" Ichigo quickly asked.

"Don't worry about it; just get Lilynette and the supplies _**now**_!"

As Kurosaki ran inside, obeying Starrk's orders, the Espada was lighting matches and setting fire to the dry grass around the shack. He observed before that biters tend to avoid large fires, let alone walk through them. Creating a wall of flames would distract the undead, and would provide cover while he, Lilynette, and Ichigo escaped.

As the flames began to rise, Ichigo and Lilynette rushed out of the shack, bags of supplies over their shoulders. Starrk quickly ran over to them.

"Where's the whiskey?" he asked his companions.

"I left it inside," the Espada's other half responded, "that stuff was gross!"

"Good. Ichigo, get Lilynette a safe distance from here, things are about to get hot."

"Come on, let's move!" Ichigo grabbed the girl by the arm, almost dragging her away from the shack Starrk was walking in to.

"What about Starrk?" Lilynette questioned, still looking at the old building as she ran.

"He'll be fine, trust me." That's what Ichigo hoped, at least. If the Espada was to die, he'd be stuck having to protect this girl, something he couldn't handle in a world like this.

The two stopped about a hundred feet away from the shack, both eyeing it in hopes that Starrk would soon make his escape. Ichigo could hear the moans and growls of the biters on the other side of the flames. The Espada was running out of time…

Suddenly, the wooden boards covering the shack's sole window were kicked out from the inside. Starrk, whose trench coat was slightly burnt, jumped through the opening and began running in Ichigo and Lilynette's direction. He showed no signs of slowing down as he came closer to them.

"I didn't tell you to stop!" he yelled as he sped past his partners, who soon followed behind him.

"What was so important about leaving the whiskey?" Ichigo asked once he caught up with the Espada.

"Oh, you'll see."

* * *

The inside of the shack was an inferno. Flames had set ablaze to all of the building's contents, except for the items inside of a small knapsack, hung from the ceiling by Starrk. As the fire grew, a large cinder landed onto the hanging bomb. The cloth knapsack began to burn, and soon caught fire. It only took a second for the flames to reach the ammunition and alcohol bottle contained inside...

* * *

_***KA-BOOM!***_

Ichigo, Starrk, and Lilynette looked back as their temporary home exploded in a glorious inferno. Burning wood flew into the air and landed across the field, dotting the landscape with flames. Ichigo could see the silhouettes of biters caught in the blaze through the smoke and fire, still moving with flames engulfing their bodies.

"Let's go."

Kurosaki turned around towards the sound of the voice. Starrk was already walking away, his head down, with Lilynette by his side.

"Where are we going now?" Ichigo asked.

"Don't know," the Espada responded, "We can go back onto the highway and see where that takes us, I guess."

Ichigo didn't like that plan. His main priority was not to wander; he_** had**_ to find his friends. It seemed like now was the best time to break off on his own. He sighed, and then turned towards the Arrancars.

"Where was it you saw my friends?"

Starrk stopped. He knew what Kurosaki was really saying, as well as what he was thinking of doing: something foolish. Looking back at the Substitute Soul Reaper, he replied:

"West on the highway, months ago, back when this all started. Don't tell me you want to go after them."

Ichigo nodded. "I have to. I can't wander around with you guys knowing that they might still be alive out there."

"What if biters get you?" Lilynette chimed in.

"Don't try and stop him, Lilynette," Starrk told the girl, "He won't take no for an answer. As for you," pointing at Kurosaki, "stay with us until we reach the highway. It'll be safer that way."

After a short pause, Ichigo answered with a slight smile:

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

It was about noon when the trio reached the highway. The once busy interstate was littered with broken down cars and random debris. Dead bodies and bones were sprinkled in between the wrecks of vehicles, some with the corpses of their drivers still behind the wheel. A crow landed by a body near Lilynette, promptly pulled out its remaining eye, and flew away with its prize. The Arrancar girl felt her stomach turn at the sight, and buried her head into Starrk's trench coat. The Primero Espada only hoped she wouldn't vomit into his clothing. Meanwhile, Ichigo was looking down the western road, searching for any undead. Thankfully, none were in sight.

"Well," Ichigo semi-announced, "I guess it's time I take my leave."

"Hold up, kid." Starrk reached into his holster, and pulled out one of his revolvers. His other hand pulled out a grenade and a pair of ammunition boxes from his trench coat. "Take these. I know I already gave you a gun, but two is always better than one. Don't waste the ammo, there ain't that much of it."

"Take this too," Lilynette added while she held a small pocket knife up to Ichigo, "I've had it for a long time, but I never used it. It's better off with you."

"Thanks, you guys," Ichigo said as he stored the gifts into his vest, "I'll use these well. Hopefully we'll meet again."

Lilynette walked over and hugged Ichigo, something that shocked the Substitute Soul Reaper. Nevertheless, he knelt down and returned the favor. After returning to his feet, Starrk firmly placed his hand on Ichigo's shoulder, and looked him in the eye.

"Watch yourself, kid. If you ever meet Hallibel, give her my regards."

"Will do, Starrk. Take care, you two."

And with that, the would be enemies parted ways, two heading east and one west, both on the road to nowhere.

* * *

The field was burning, smoke rising into the grey skies. Rain would soon put out the flames, something that the hooded man didn't want. As his soldiers threw the bodies of the recently executed undead into a huge billowing flame, he walked through the wreckage of what was once a shack. Fragments of ammunition shells were lodged into the rotting boards. The hooded man picked out a fragment between his glove covered fingers, and crushed it into ashes. He then headed back towards his men.

"Fall out. Back to the trucks." His voice was filled with malice, and sounded almost like a snarl.

"Yes sir!" the soldiers replied in unison.

As the hooded man got into the backseat of his personal truck, he began to think about the former residents of the shack.

Whoever was there was surviving.

Whoever was there wasn't under his control.

Whoever was there _**must die…**_

* * *

_Quote by Walt Whitman._


	4. Chapter 4 - Raining Blood

_"The enemy of your enemy is not always your friend..."_

* * *

"Damn rain."

To Ichigo, walking down the highway didn't seem all that bad at first. He only encountered two biters so far, and was also lucky enough to find a wrecked delivery truck full of snacks (that weren't expired). Then, as he was opening his fourth bag of potato chips, he felt a raindrop fall onto his hand, followed by a few more.

And then it started pouring.

'_How could a day start out with a beautiful, sunny morning, and then turn to this?_' he thought. Just as quickly as the rain had started, the wind picked up as well, blowing rain towards the east. Ichigo was walking with his eyes almost shut for almost an hour now, his peripheral vision blocked by his squinting. A biter could show up beside him right now and he wouldn't even know it. All Kurosaki wanted to do was get out of this rain. _**Now.**_

"There's has to be shelter around here somewhere," he muttered to himself as he tried to see through the developing fog covering the road ahead. He was on the part of highway where abandoned cars were nowhere to be found, and the lack of trees only gave the wind more room to blow.

He began to wonder how Starrk and Lilynette were faring in this weather. '_Probably better than me,_' he thought, '_They're sitting by a nice fire under an underpass right now, I bet. Maybe I should've stayed with them a little longer_…' His train of though was interrupted by a faint, yet startling, sound from the fog behind him.

"Uhggh…"

Somehow, in this weather, a biter had found him.

Ichigo's eyes widened. '_Shit, not here! Not now!_'

Stopping quickly, he reached for the hammer hanging from his belt and entered a defensive stance. Kurosaki could only see about five feet ahead through the thick fog, but the biter's moaning gave its position away. Shifting his body to the left, he grasped his hammer tightly and swung into the unknown.

_***THUNK!***_

Luckily, the tool hit its mark. Ichigo pulled on the hammer, removing it from the unseen biter's skull. Deep red blood trickled from the steel head down the handle of Kurosaki's weapon, the rain causing it to flow faster. Ichigo didn't bother wiping the blood from his hands, as the falling water would just wash it away. Sheathing his weapon, he continued walking ahead as if nothing had just happened.

Only a few minutes later, the fog started to thin out, and the raindrops fell more sparsely. The sun's rays shined like a spotlight over the highway, showcasing the empty road as if it were of some importance. But Ichigo was unfazed by the sun's reappearance. No, his thoughts were focused on what he had spotted on the sign ahead, which read:

Karakura Town

½ mile East

* * *

"Damn rain," Shuhei Hisagi muttered as a raindrop fell into his eye. He had just walked back out onto the roof of what was once the Karakura General Hospital to lay back and bask in the newly visible sun, when water once again began to drizzle from the sky only five minutes later. Right now Hisagi wished he could use his crossbow to shoot all the rain, even if the thought of it sounded ridiculous.

"Oh come on, the rain's not that bad."

The former Squad Nine lieutenant glared over at Izuru Kira, who had responded to his personal comment. Shuhei's response was a simple snort, as he stood up and went back inside. The door to the steps slammed behind him, catching the ear of Nanao Ise.

"What's his problem now?" she called to Izuru from the other side of the building. The once lieutenant of Squad Eight was busy scanning the streets for the undead with a pair of binoculars, oblivious to the men's "conversation".

"Nothing," Kira called back, "he's angry 'cause water got in his eye."

"Of course." Nanao despised being stuck with men; the littlest things made them tick. Izuru was really the only tolerable one, but even he had his quirks. But there was one man whom she truly despised. He was recently on a building a few blocks over, and thought that firing a gun was the best thing to do in a city of the undead. Thankfully he had stopped shooting a couple of minutes ago, probably because he ran out of ammo. Nanao hoped he was devoured on his journey back to the hospital, but the odds of that were, sadly, unlikely.

Suddenly the door Shuhei recently went through slammed open again, and out of it stepped the man that Ise wished would just die. And he was angry.

"_**Where's the goddamn ammo? I need more! WHERE IS IT?"**_

Nanao sighed. She could already feel her headache returning, which developed back when she first met this man. Even his name made her sick:

_Grimmjow Jaegerjaques_.

Before the Arrancar could resume yelling, Izuru quickly stepped up.

"Grimmjow, please, calm down…"

"Calm down? _**CALM DOWN?!**_ How can I do that while walkers are still roaming the streets, waiting to die again? We came into this town _**for**_ supplies, so go get me some now, _**you punk ass bitch**_!" The former Espada was gritting his teeth at Kira, ready to pounce on him and tear him apart if he didn't get some bullets.

"We're out of rounds, Grimmjow," Izuru replied nervously, "How can I give you any if there is none?"

"Then you better fucking get some then, shouldn't ya?" Grimmjow growled at Kira. And with that, Jaegerjaques stormed off to the other side of the building. As he walked past Nanao, he took a look back at spectacled girl, more specifically her backside. '_Not bad,_' he thought to himself. Soon, perverted thoughts came to mind. After his short fantasizing, he walked up behind Ise with a smirk on his face.

Nanao almost jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and cringed when he heard the Espada's voice.

"Hey there, cutie."

"What do you want?" Ise snapped as she dusted his hand off of her.

"Oh come on, don't be like that," Grimmjow crooned, "I just wanna have a little fun, know what I mean? How about over there behind the pile of bricks, you and me? Tape your mouth shut so Kira doesn't hear you scream while I'm plowin' ya?"

The Espada soon regretted saying that last part, as Nanao quickly answered his advances with a sharp punch to the groin. Her low blow was hard enough to make Grimmjow fall to his knees, as well as cough up a little blood.

"You could've just said no, you fucking bitch." Jaegerjaques painfully snarled at Nanao. The woman didn't even respond as she walked away from him towards Izuru, who was looking at the streets below.

"Tell me again why we didn't kill that asshole, Kira."

"I don't know, Nanao," he answered, "I really don't know."

* * *

The rain was falling steadily once again as Ichigo sneaked around the undead-infested streets of Karakura Town. The monsters were everywhere, roaming mindlessly and feasting on corpses that had not yet turned. It seemed almost impossible for any living being to not be noticed by the biters, but Ichigo had devised a plan on how to evade the beasts.

'_They can't get me if they can't __**reach**__ me_,' Kurosaki thought to himself as he leaped from one building to another, '_Genius!_' Something he didn't realize though was that jumping from structure to structure was going to be a lot more tiring without being able to use Shunpo. After traversing over five buildings, Ichigo was out of breath, panting heavily.

"I need…I need a rest," he rasped as he sat down onto the roof. For once, Ichigo appreciated the rain; it felt like a constant shower. A few minutes later he was back on his feet, ready to building hop again. Looking forward, Ichigo noticed how large the gap was between this building and the next.

"Guess I'll need a running start," he said to himself. Ichigo walked backwards to the edge of the building, his eyes focused on the gap ahead. He took a deep breath, and sprinted forward, and as he reached the opposite edge, he leaped.

"_**Shit**_!" Mid – air, Kurosaki could tell that his jump was too short, and his body missed the other building by a little over two feet. He crashed into the brick wall, and fell straight below into a full dumpster. Ichigo quickly dug himself out of the mound of trash bags.

'_At least the landing was soft_," he thought to himself as he pulled a wet newspaper off his arm.

"Ichigo Kurosaki?"

The sound of the foreign voice made the orange haired teen jump, and he quickly turned his head towards its source. Ichigo's eyes widened when he saw who the voice belonged to.

"_**Captain Hitsugaya**_!"

Or at least that's who he thought he was. The young Captain looked like a different person; he wasn't wearing his Haori, but instead a deep green hoodie, which covered all of his snow white hair. His clothes and face were covered in dirt, and so was the large backpack he was carrying.

"Yes, it is I," Hitsugaya responded with a slight smile, "but please, don't call me Captain. There's no need for it anymore. May I ask what you are doing in Karakura Town?"

"Well," Ichigo said as he climbed out of the dumpster, "I came here looking for you guys, but it seems you found me instead. And why are you here?"

"Supplies. I came into the city with a small group positioned on the roof of the hospital. Let's not talk anymore, the walkers might here us. Follow me."

Hitsugaya snuck over to the edge of the alleyway, and stopped to peer around the corner. As Ichigo walked up behind him, the white haired boy raised his hand for him to stop.

"What is it?" Kurosaki whispered.

"There's a lone walker over by the manhole I came up through. Do you happen to have any weapons?"

"Yeah, I got a hammer with his name on it." Ichigo was removing the hammer from his belt when he noticed something.

"Wait, Toshiro."

"Yeah?"

"Don't you have your Zanpaku-to?"

""Why would I? You know what happened to them, don't you?"

"No… what are you talking about?"

"Well... there's not really time to tell you now, later will be good. Now go take out that walker."

Even though he wanted to hear about the situation with the Zanpaku-to, Ichigo complied with the order and began to creep up behind his target from the alleyway. It took only one good hit to the skull to bring the walker down. As Ichigo knelt to the ground to pull out his weapon, Hitsugaya came up behind him.

"Hit it again," the white haired boy ordered.

Ichigo looked up at him. "But it's already dead."

"Doesn't matter. Rule number one," Hitsugaya held up a single finger, "always double-tap."

"Fine, Kurosaki sighed as he complied with the order once more, striking the walker's skull again, leaving two bloodied holes in its head. Hitsugaya was already removing the manhole while Ichigo double-tapped the corpse. Seconds later, the manhole was back in place as the two Soul Reapers began their travels through the sewers.

* * *

"Sky's getting darker now." Izuru said, to no one in particular. Everyone had left the rooftop now; Shuhei and Grimmjow had gone back inside the building, and Nanao went back to the R.V parked out of sight from walkers. Kira had decided to stay on the roof to watch out for Hitsugaya, who was on his way back from gathering supplies. Lately, he had been talking to himself for comfort, when others wouldn't. With no sake to take the pain of loneliness away, the sound of his own voice soothed him.

"I wonder where Hitsugaya is…" His voice began to trail off as the worst reasons came to mind. Izuru could envision the former Captain being cornered in a building by a horde of the undead, with nowhere to run, and then the inevitable happening.

"No!" Kira slapped himself, erasing the gruesome vision in his mind. "Don't think like that, Izuru. He's fine. Everyone's always fine. Stop worrying!"

A lightning strike followed by the loud rumbling of thunder snapped Izuru out of his ramblings. It began to pour again, much harder than last time. Kira decided it was best to go inside; he didn't feel like getting wet right now. He made his way towards the door, but before he could even reach it, it flew open, and out came Hisagi, bruised and bloodied.

"Shuhei!" Izuru shouted as he ran over to his friend, "What's going on?"

The other merely pointed his finger at the person standing in the open door, and stated, "_**Him**_".

"Him" was Grimmjow, who was also bruised, but smiling. The Arrancar cracked his knuckles as he stepped towards Hisagi.

"You should know better than to touch my gun, Hisagi," Grimmjow snarled, "and now you're gonna _**PAY**_!"

* * *

While Shuhei and Jaegerjaques were duking it out on the roof, Ichigo and Hitsugaya were navigating their way through the sewers. Rainwater was gushing into the tunnels through the storm drains, making walking through the flowing water even more challenging for the two.

"_**How'd you walk through these tunnels before**_?" Ichigo yelled to Toshiro.

"_**The water wasn't covering the walkways last time**_!" the latter shouted. The rushing water was incredibly loud, forcing the two Soul Reapers to shout at each other. "_**Don't worry, were almost there!**_"

A large wave suddenly splashed over the Soul Reapers. Ichigo was knocked down by the wave, but Hitsugaya got the worst of it: a mouthful of sewage water. The young boy was fuming with disgust and spat out the filthy water similar to how a fountain would. Kurosaki snickered at his friend's situation as he stood up, and decided to comment.

"_**I'm guessing now's not a good time to ask what happened to our Zanpaku-to, huh?**_"

"_**Shut. Up.**_"

Hitsugaya kept quiet the rest of their trek through the sewers. '_Wow,_' Ichigo thought, '_I must've really pissed him off…_'

The former Squad Ten Captain broke the silence as he and Kurosaki approached a set of steps on the sewer wall.

"_**Alright, we're here. Climb up!**_"

Ichigo went up first and peered out of the manhole when he reached the top.

"_**It's clear**_," he called down surprisingly to Toshiro, "_**No biters!"**_

"_**Biters? You mean walkers?"**_

"_**Biters, walkers, same thing."**_

The two climbed out of the sewers and made a beeline towards the hospital. Ichigo went straight to the front doors, but Toshiro stopped him.

"You don't want to go in there," Toshiro said, "It's infested with walkers. We locked them in there as soon as we arrived."

"Where are the others?" Ichigo asked.

"This way."

Kurosaki followed Hitsugaya as he ran behind the building. An old, beat up R.V came into view as they turned the corner. The front grill was badly rusted, and the sides were a mix of blood and dirt. The windows were scratched and dirty. The dented door flew open, and out stepped Nanao, with a distressed look on her face. In her hands were a walkie-talkie and a pair of handcuffs.

"What's wrong, Nanao?" Toshiro asked, "Where are the others?"

"Something's going down on the roof. Hisagi and 'jackass' are fighting…." Nanao's voice trailed as her gaze shifted towards Ichigo, and her expression turned to that of shock. Her eyes widened as she recognized the orange haired boy who invaded the Sereitei. "Wait, is that-

"Yes," Hitsugaya interrupted, "that's Kurosaki. But he's not important right now, the fight up there is. How bad is it?"

"Very. It's been going on for ten minutes now, but Kira was just able to tell me about it over the walkie-talkie. I think he got pulled into it somehow; he sounded out of breath and in pain."

"Then let's stop talking and go stop it instead. Ichigo, I want you to go first. You're the only one with a weapon, and we may need you to use it. Just follow the steps to the top, and out onto the roof. Nanao and I will be right behind you."

"Got it," Ichigo said with a thumbs up, "But wait, who's 'jackass'?"

"Let's just say…" Nanao tried to think of something 'decent' to say, "He knows you."

* * *

"_**OOOF**_!"

Shuhei didn't realize what he had gotten himself into when he decided to examine Grimmjow's gun in front of the Espada's face. It was clear to him now that Jaegerjaques had a problem with others touching his stuff.

The winner of the fight was determined as soon as Grimmjow thrust his knee into Hisagi's groin. That one blow almost knocked the former Squad Nine Lieutenant out, but the Arrancar didn't feel like finishing with a dirty move like that. No, he wanted to make this Soul Reaper pay.

"Come on, Hisagi, you're tougher than _**THIS!**_" Grimmjow was smiling as Shuhei coughed up blood after a hard body blow. "Well, at least I thought you _**WERE**_!"

"_**UNNGH**_!" A swift roundhouse kick hit Hisagi in the ribs, knocking him down. The Espada was brimming with sadistic joy. He knelt down, looking Shuhei right in the eye.

"You learn your lesson yet, motherfucker? Well, _**DID YA**_?"

The Soul Reaper answered Grimmjow by spitting blood in his face, enraging the Arrancar even more. Grimmjow grabbed Hisagi by the neck, digging his nails into the Soul Reaper's skin.

"I'm gonna snap your neck, you piece of shi- _**OOOFH**_!"

The Espada was tackled to the ground by Izuru, who had just recovered from the flurry of punches given to him minutes ago by Hisagi's attacker. Kira was only able to land a few right hooks onto Grimmjow before he was kneed in the gut. Soon he was in the same position as Shuhei, with the Espada's hand gripping his throat.

"So, you wanna die instead?" Grimmjow sneered at Izuru, "Alright then, _**you asked for it**_!"

"Grim - *ack* - Grimmjow, please!" Kira rasped, "It doesn't have to be like this!"

The Espada smiled. "Yeah, I know… _**but it's more fun this way**_!"

"_**PUT HIM DOWN, GRIMMJOW!"**_

The Arrancar recognized that voice. He turned around towards the door, and saw an orange haired teen wielding a hammer, glaring at him with anger in his eyes. Behind him stood Hitsugaya and Ise, both glaring at him as well. An evil smile spread across the Arrancar's face.

"Well," Grimmjow said as he tossed Kira aside, "I never expected to see you again, _**Ichigo Kurosaki**_!"

* * *

_Quote by yours truly..._


	5. Chapter 5 - A Chance to Survive

_"...The enemy of your enemy is **yourself**."_

* * *

_**Moments ago…**_

"So, you wanna die instead?" Grimmjow sneered at Izuru, "Alright then, _**you asked for it**_!"

"Grim - *ack* - Grimmjow, please!" Kira rasped, "It doesn't have to be like this!"

The Espada smiled. "Yeah, I know… _**but it's more fun this way**_!"

"_**PUT HIM DOWN, GRIMMJOW!"**_

The Arrancar recognized that voice. He turned around towards the door, and saw an orange haired teen wielding a hammer, glaring at him with anger in his eyes. Behind him stood Toshiro Hitsugaya and Nanao Ise, both glaring at him as well. An evil smile spread across the Arrancar's face.

"Well," Grimmjow said as he tossed Kira aside, "I never expected to see you again, _**Ichigo Kurosaki**_!"

* * *

The tension in the air was enormous as the two rivals stared at one another. On the left was Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, an Arrancar trapped in a Gigai, boiling with rage. To the right was Ichigo Kurosaki, the former Substitute Soul Reaper to the Soul Society, who woke up into a world ruled by the dead mere days ago. These two had battled against each other twice already, with the former standing victorious both times. However, this encounter was different. Both had no spiritual powers, and one was not blinded by sadistic anger.

Ichigo gripped his hammer tightly. He knew how unpredictable and vicious the Espada could be, and it seemed he had already proven it by pummeling both Izuru and Hisagi to bloody pulps. Grimmjow was still grinning; he had been waiting to run into Kurosaki since he was abandoned in this world by Aizen. Now he could finally tear him to pieces with his bare hands.

"I've been waiting to see you again," Jaegerjaques growled at Ichigo, "It seems you couldn't stay away from these shitty Soul Reaper friends of yours, huh?"

"Don't insult them, Grimmjow," Ichigo stated, "They were kind enough to keep you alive when they captured you. Show them some _**respect**_!"

'_How does he know that?_' was what everyone was thinking. Everyone except for Grimmjow, who was ready to rip out Ichigo's throat. In the blink of an eye, the Espada was running full speed at the orange haired teen.

"Don't tell me who to respect, _**you son of a bitch!**_"

'_He's a lot more reckless than before,_' Ichigo thought as he watched Grimmjow charge at him, '_At least it'll work in my advantage!_'

When Jaegerjaques was no more than an arm length's away from Kurosaki, the latter chucked the hammer into his opponents chest, simultaneously sidestepping to the attacker's left while throwing a fist straight into the Arrancar's face, which knocked him off his feet. In a motion as fluid as water, Ichigo flanked Grimmjow and landed a hard boot into his back while he was in midair. Before the Espada's face could hit the ground, he could feel his right leg being pulled back and a sharp elbow into the same spot where Kurosaki kicked him. Ichigo wrenched Grimmjow's right arm behind his back and pinned him to the roof with his knee, restraining the fuming Espada.

The entire scuffle lasted no more than ten seconds.

"_**GET OFF ME, DAMMIT!**_" Jaegerjaques barked at Kurosaki, who ignored his demand and turned to Nanao, who stood with mouth agape, amazed at how fast the newcomer took 'Jackass' down.

"Toss me those handcuffs."

Ise threw the cuffs at Ichigo, who caught them with his free hand. He locked one of the rings around Grimmjow's restrained arm, and wrapped his fingers around the other. Flipping the Arrancar over, Kurosaki formed a fist with his free hand and looked Grimmjow right in the eye, a smirk on the Substitute Soul Reaper's face.

"Nightie – night, Grimmjow."

*_**POW!**_*

And with that, the Espada was out cold.

Ichigo wasn't done yet, though. He knew that when Grimmjow would wake up, he'd be angrier than before. The best thing to do now was to put the handcuffs to use. Kurosaki grabbed the unconscious Espada's cuffed arm and dragged him over to one of the metal pipes connected to the hospital's power generator.

'There's no way you're getting out of this,' Ichigo though as he clamped the open ring around the pipe. Everyone on the roof was impressed at the way Ichigo handled the situation.

"The beast has been tamed," Hitsugaya said to himself with a smile as he looked upon the restrained Grimmjow from a distance.

"How long you think he'll be out?" Nanao asked the white haired boy.

"Knowing him, not long. Soon he will be yelling and screaming again. At least he won't be able to come near us."

"Good."

At that moment, Kira rose back onto his feet. His legs felt like jelly as he stood in place, not wanting to take a step. He then remembered his friend Hisagi and the injuries he had sustained minutes ago. Izuru's eyes shifted toward where Shuhei was lying, and was surprised to see the Squad Nine Lieutenant limping towards the door. Ichigo also noticed the wounded man trying to leave and called out to him.

"Hey, uhh…" Ichigo turned and whispered to Kira, "what's his name?"

"Hisagi."

"Hisagi! You look like you need some help."

Shuhei glared at Kurosaki. "I'm fine. Leave me be."

"I'd say you aren't. Maybe you should-"

"_**Maybe you should stay out of other people's fights**_!" The ashamed Lieutenant snapped back. Kurosaki was taken aback by this, and narrowed his eyes at Hisagi.

"I was trying to help you."

"_**I didn't need your damn help!**_" Shuhei was almost as angry as Grimmjow now. "I was going to get back up and beat the hell outta that son of a bitch!"

"Well from what I saw, you weren't! Your friend here was about to have his neck broken while you were lying down!"

"_**How about I break your neck then?**_"

*_**CH-CHCK**_*

The two arguing men turned in the direction of the cocking gun, and saw Nanao pointing in their general area.

"Both of you _**SHUT YOUR MOUTHS!**_"

Until now, none of the group had seen Lieutenant Ise holding a gun, let alone aim it at something. She was surprised at herself as well; for some reason wielding the firearm felt good, almost natural.

"Alright ," Nanao continued in her normal voice, " I want you both to _**apologize**_ to each other, right now. If Kurosaki's coming with us, we're all going to get along, okay? Shuhei, you first."

"Why me?"

"Because you started it."

"Fine," Hisagi lowered his head, not wanting to look Ichigo in the eye, and muttered "Sorry."

"Louder!"

"I'm sorry!"

"For what?" Nanao enjoyed this power over the man. '_I'm keeping this gun_' she thought with a smirk.

Sighing, Shuhei locked eyes with Ichigo. "I'm sorry for not accepting your help. You were right, Kira, and myself, would be dead right now if it wasn't for you, Ikango."

"It's Ichigo," The newcomer said with a smile, "Ichigo Kurosaki. And I apologize for losing my temper a little bit. Heat of the moment, you know?"

Hisagi smirked. "Hmph. Yeah, you ain't the only one who has anger issues."

"_Unngh…"_

The moan came from Grimmjow, who had awoken from unconsciousness. He opened his eyes, which immediately filled with rage as he locked sights on Kurosaki. The Espada tried to swing his right fist at his enemy, but couldn't, and soon became even angrier when he saw that he had been handcuffed to a pipe.

"DAMMIT!" Grimmjow yelled as he repeatedly pulled on the restraints, unable to break loose. "_**GET ME OUT OF THESE FUCKING THINGS**_!"

"Do you want me to knock you out again?" Ichigo asked him with a smirk.

"_**FUCK OFF, YOU BASTARD!**_ _**WHEN I GET OUT OF THESE THINGS, I'M GONNA-"**_

*_**POW!**_*

"Told you I'd do it."

"I got an idea," Nanao said as she walked up towards the unconscious Espada's body with rifle in hand, "Let's just kill him." She cocked the gun and placed the barrel on Grimmjow's temple. Hitsugaya quickly pulled the gun from her hand.

"_**What's wrong with you?"**_ the Captain yelled, "You can't just execute an unconscious man, no matter how much of a pain he is."

"Toshiro's right," Ichigo followed, "We're not murderers. But I know one thing: we are _**not **_bringing him back with us."

Everyone else knew that Kurosaki was right. Before leaving to Karakura Town for supplies, Grimmjow was already a menace at the camp, terrorizing the rest of the group. If he was to come back with them this time, the Arrancar would surely kill someone.

"So what are we gonna do, just leave him?" Shuhei asked.

"That sounds good to me," Toshiro answered, "It also won't be completely our fault if he dies, either."

Izuru simply shook his head in agreement, even though he really didn't. He didn't want anyone to die, no matter how terrible of a person they were.

"I still think we should kill him…" Nanao muttered to herself.

"It's settled then. We're leaving him here," Ichigo confirmed, "But not without a chance to survive. Are there any keys to unlock the cuffs?"

"Izuru said he didn't find any with them," Toshiro answered.

"Then this is Grimmjow's chance." Digging his hand into his pocket, Ichigo pulled out the small pocket knife given to him by Lilynette Gingerback hours ago. He placed it on the ground within reaching distance of the Espada. "He's not getting out of here without punishment, if you all know what I mean."

It took only seconds for the others to realize what Kurosaki was talking about. Though the thought of what Grimmjow must do to set himself free was unsettling, they all felt that it was a reasonable punishment. The only one who disagreed was Kira.

"This isn't right…" he murmured loud enough for everyone to hear. The remark was just enough to set Nanao off.

"Are you kidding me, Izuru!?" she yelled, "That bastard tried to kill you! How can you justify defending him?"

"_**He'll still die!"**_ Kira shouted back, "As soon as he cuts into his wrist, he'll begin to bleed to death. You might as well just put a bullet in his head now!"

"It has to be done, Izuru," Hitsugaya stated, "Grimmjow tried to murder you and Hisagi. That cannot go unpunished. You do remember what he once was, don't you?"

"Of course I do, Toshiro, but there are no longer sides in this place. Soul Reapers and Espada's don't exist anymore. We're all mortals and we have to stick together to survive!"

There was a short pause after Izuru's finished speaking while Ichigo thought of what to say. After a few moments, he folded his arms and spoke:

"You're right, Izuru. Grimmjow will die. It might not be from cutting himself out of the cuffs, but he still won't make it. If he was to make it out of the building the biters on the street would attack him instantly, his only weapon being that knife. So yes, we are killing this man by leaving him. But think about what would happen if we brought him. After he wakes up, he's going to kill us all. Maybe not right away, but he will. The instant one of us is alone with him, or while we're sleeping, he'll make his move. And just because I was able to restrain him this time doesn't mean it'll happen again. He could kill me, and then you'd all be next. So Izuru, we could free him, and allow your friends to die. Or, we could leave him, and have only one death on our hands. Your choice."

A burst of lightning coupled by booming thunder followed the last sentence of Ichigo's monologue. The wind began to pick up as Kira allowed Kurosaki's words to sink in. '_He's right_,' he thought, '_I put one life before the lives of my friends. How foolish could I be!_'

Kira began to walk towards the door to the steps. As he passed Ichigo, he looked sadly at the orange haired teen and said, "Let's go."

"It's about time," scoffed Nanao as she hurried past the Izuru. A silent Hisagi followed close behind the two. Hitsugaya approached Ichigo, who was staring at the chained Grimmjow.

"Kira was right, you know," the white haired boy said to Ichigo while gesturing to the Espada's body, "About this one dying. There's no way he will make it out alive. Maybe we should free him and not tell the others."

"No," Ichigo answered quickly, "I'm not going to do anything behind anybody's back. We made our decision, and we're sticking with it. Now let's get out of here."

As the two made their way out of the open door, Ichigo looked back at Grimmjow, who was still out cold.

'_Sorry, Grimmjow_…' was the last thought that went through Kurosaki's mind before closing the door behind him, leaving the Espada to his death.

* * *

The sound of the pouring rain echoed throughout the walls of the staircase as the five Soul Reapers descended to the bottom level. It took only a few minutes for them to travel down the six flights of stairs and reach the door leading to the R.V. By this time the entire group was out of breath.

"Hold… hold up guys," Ichigo panted, "I need… to catch my breath…"

"You can as soon as we get in the R.V," Hisagi answered, "It's just right outside."

Toshiro opened the door slightly and peeked outside. "We're clear. Let us make this quick."

Suddenly, a walker appeared out of nowhere right as Hitsugaya began to completely open the door

"_RAAHG_!"

"_**AAAHHH!"**_

*_**SLAM!**_*

The white haired boy looked at the others with wide eyes, his back against the now shut door.

"Okay, maybe we're not clear yet."

"How many were out there?" Ichigo asked.

"Only that one. I was not lying the first time."

"Then let's take him down. Nanao, get the gun ready and prepare to fire. Hisagi, when I count to three, you open the door as fast as you can. Got it?"

The two nodded in agreement as they got into position. Ichigo waited until he felt they were ready.

"Alright, here we go. One…"

Nanao leveled the rifle, aiming eye level at the door.

"Two…"

Shuhei gripped the door handle tightly, building strength in his arm.

"THREE!"

The instant Hisagi pulled the door open, the walker stumbled into the room, a rasping growl coming from its throat. It looked around at the men standing around the room before gazing down towards the floor at the young women pointing a barrel in his face.

_***BANG!***_

"I think I got him!" Nanao shouted.

"Hold up," Ichigo ordered as he approached the corpse, observing it with hammer in hand. A large bullet hole lie between the walker's eyes, black blood oozing onto the floor from the exit wound in the back of its skull. The beast was definitely dead, but Kurosaki still crushed what was left of its head with his boot for good measure.

"Good shot, Nanao," he said with a smile, "Now let's get the hell outta here."

As they burst out of the door, Hisagi was the first to reach the R.V, opening its dented door to allow the others to get inside. Nanao quickly slid into the driver's seat and started the engine, while Hitsugaya sat in the passenger's seat beside her. Ichigo took a seat by the pullout table across from Kira.

"So… this is where you four live?" Kurosaki asked Izuru, trying to get rid of the tension between the two.

"No," he answered, "This is someone else's R.V. I don't think you know him though."

"What's his name?"

"Captain Shunsui Kyoraku."

"Yeah, I don't know him. He a nice guy?" Ichigo only asked that since most of the Captain's he'd met (namely Kenpachi, Byakuya, and Aizen) didn't treat him very kindly.

"Oh yes, one of the kindest, especially to the ladies. He was Nanao's Captain back in the Soul Society."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Apparently the reason he picked her as his lieutenant was because she kind of looked like his former one. Kyoraku has a thing for girls with glasses, apparently."

"_**HEY**_!" Nanao interrupted, "_**Don't talk about me behind my back! One more word and I'll throw you out of this vehicle! Now shut your mouths so I can drive us outta this hell hole!"**_

Ichigo and Kira snickered after Ise had finished blowing her top. They began to converse about the spectacled girl in whispers so she couldn't hear them. As Nanao drove the R.V past the front of the hospital, Shuhei looked at the door's to the lobby, just remembering what they had locked in the room that morning.

"Hey," he asked to no one in particular, "Any of you think those walkers are still in there?"

"Let's not think about it," answered Toshiro, "I don't think any of us are coming back here, anyways."

Ichigo frowned at Hitsugaya's last comment. The orange haired boy looked out the window one last time at Karakura Town, his home, as the R.V made its way out of the city, its passengers never to return there again.

* * *

"What the hell?" were the first words to leave Grimmjow's mouth as he regained consciousness for the second time. He had awoken to an empty rooftop, the same one that Ichigo and the others had left nearly twenty minutes ago. The only thing that the Espada could see that wasn't there before was a small pocket knife placed in front of him. Once again he began to pull on the handcuffs, trying to break loose. Just like earlier, his attempt failed.

Grimmjow propped his body up into a sitting position, leaning on the power generator behind him. He was much angrier than ever before. Thoughts of mutilating the Soul Reapers who left him here filled his head. He grabbed the pocket knife and begun stabbing the air, imagining himself thrusting it into Kurosaki's gut, and then using it to slice off his hands. After he finished "killing" Kurosaki, Grimmjow examined the small, surprisingly sharp knife.

'_Why the hell would they leave this?_' he thought, '_It's like they expect me to cut myself outta these damn cuffs…_'

And then realization dawned on the Espada.

"Those… _**THOSE BASTARDS! THOSE SICK FUCKS! How dare they do this to me! How dare they expect me to cut off my hand to free myself! I'll kill them! I'LL KILL THEM ALL!"**_

_***THUMP!***_

"What the fuck?" Grimmjow said as he looked towards the stairway door, unsure if he had just heard that sound.

_***THUMP!***_

"Who's there?"

_***THUMP!***_

"_**WHO'S THERE? ANSWER ME, DAMMIT!"**_

"_Rhuugh…"_

The Espada's eyes widened. That rasp was soon followed by a dozen more, all blending together into a chorus of the undead.

'_That's impossible_,' Grimmjow thought, '_Those things were locked in the lobby. How'd they get up here?'_

The Espada's only conclusion was created through his earlier anger and hatred.

'_Ichigo…_'

"_**ICHIGO! YOU BASTARD! Sending these walker's up to devour me, instead of killing me yourself? YOU"RE PATHETIC! I won't let you win, no way in hell! I'll show you! I'LL KILL THEM ALL WITH ONE HAND!"  
**_  
Grimmjow grabbed hold of the knife, staring at the blade with uneasy eyes. He then looked at his cuffed hand, still bound to the pipe. The Espada took in a deep breath of air through his nose.

'_Damn you, Kurosaki…_'

He brought the blade towards his wrist and began to saw into his flesh. Grimmjow winced in pain as blood began to seep from the cut, dripping onto the rooftop. After ten seconds, the Arrancar's head began to spin, only halfway through his arm. His vision blurred, followed by his mouth going dry. And then everything went black.

While Grimmjow lie on the roof, bleeding out, he could hear the sound of gunshots ringing in the air. The door slammed open, followed by the sound of at least a dozen footsteps running across the roof. An unfamiliar voice came into his ears.

"Sir! This one's alive, should we bring him back with us?"

The voice that followed was deep and rasping, and, surprisingly to Grimmjow, very menacing.

"Yes. He may be of some use to me. But first…"

Grimmjow felt someone remove the knife from his weakening grasp, and then grab him by the arm.

"Let's finish what he started…"

* * *

_Quote, once again, by yours truly._


	6. Chapter 6 - Together Again

_"Yeah, you've been alone,_

_I've been gone for far too long,_

_But with all that we've been through, _

_After all this time I'm coming home to you."_

* * *

It had been about half an hour since Ichigo and the Soul Reapers drove out of the abandoned Karakura Town and headed towards the camp where a group of survivors were hiding. It was an unpleasant ride, to say the least. Before they departed, Nanao forgot to empty the sewage compartment of the R.V, allowing the vehicle to be engulfed in the smell of day's old human waste. Her driving ability was not the best either; her constant braking and sharp turning continuously knocked the men out of their seats.

When the R.V finally reached the campsite, the men were almost happier to be out of that fuming death trap than to be back safely. Izuru was the first one out the doors, sprinting as fast as he could away from the vehicle. He was quickly followed by Hisagi, Hitsugaya and Ichigo.

"Fresh air, oh how I missed you!" Kurosaki yelled as he ran. Looking straight ahead, he didn't notice one of the Soul Reapers who had stayed behind, unable to see her due to her small stature. The two collided, both falling into a pile of mud.

"_**HEY**_!" the woman yelled at Ichigo, "Watch we're the heck you're going!"

"Sorry about that, Rukia….Wait, _**RUKIA**_?!'

Ichigo looked over at the girl he had ran over, and, to his surprise, it was indeed Rukia Kuchiki, the Soul Reaper who had given him his powers and changed his life. She was just as surprised to see him as well, and embraced her good friend.

"Ichigo! You're alive!" Rukia said gleefully, "We all thought you were dead! How'd you find us?"

"You can thank Hitsugaya for that. It's good to see you, Rukia."

"You too, Ichigo. Come with me, there are others you probably want to see, too."

Rukia led Kurosaki around a grove of trees. A few cars were parked behind, the backseats filled to the roof with supplies. The scent of a roasting bird filled the air; it was the best thing Ichigo had smelled all day. Things would only get better, as the Substitute Soul Reaper looked upon the people sitting around a fire pit. They were:

Uryu Ishida, whose mouth dropped open as soon as he noticed Ichigo.

Yasutora "Chad" Sado, who, in shock, dropped the spoon he was eating soup with when he saw his friend.

Shunsui Kyoraku, awakening to the sound of Sado's utensil falling onto a rock.

And Karin and Yuzu Kurosaki, huddling together, looking at their brother with unbelieving eyes.

"I- Ichigo?" Yuzu stammered, unsure if the person she was seeing was truly her brother.

"Is that… really you?" Karin followed after her sister.

Ichigo himself couldn't believe what he was seeing, either. His own sisters, alive, in this hell of a world. Emotions overcame all three siblings, tears running from all their eyes. The girls threw their food and ran to their brother, almost stumbling over each other, and hugged him tightly. Ichigo held his sisters, never wanting to let them go.

"Yuzu… Karin…" the elder Kurosaki had no words to express his happiness of seeing his sisters.

"Ichi- Ichigo," Karin cried, "Don't ever leave us again!"

"We need you, big brother!" muffled Yuzu, her face buried into Ichigo's chest.

"Don't worry," Ichigo soothed, "I'm here… I'll keep you both safe. No matter what."

While the Kurosaki's reunited, another person close to Ichigo's heart had just returned from collecting water at a nearby river. The instant she saw him, the pail of water in her hands dropped to the ground.

"_**ICHIGO!"**_

Her voice made the orange haired teen's heart skip a beat. Ichigo slowly looked up from his sisters, with widened eyes and trembling mouth.

"_**ORIHIME!"**_

Inoue ran towards her love and leapt into his arms. Tears poured down her delicate face as she pressed her face into Ichigo's neck. Kurosaki held her tighter than he did his own sisters, and gently kissed her on the forehead.

"I was – I was so worried about you…" Orihime choked between tears, lifting her head to look Ichigo in the eyes.

"I was too," replied Ichigo with a warm smile, "Thank goodness you're alright." The orange haired boy felt a hand being placed on his shoulder.

"You can thank me and Chad for that, Ichigo," Ishida spoke.

"It's good to see you again," followed Chad.

"Same to both of you. Is there enough room by this fire for me?"

* * *

Time seemed to fly by around the fire as Ichigo told everyone of what happened to him for the past ten days. From when he met Starrk and Lilynette to his scuffle with Grimmjow, he left out no details. To his right sat Orihime, her hand on his, and to his left Karin and Yuzu, snuggled together under a blanket. All three girls listened to his voice with devoted attention, but the one person most intrigued by his experiences was, surprisingly, Captain Kyoraku. The easy going man, who was still able to wear his trademark hat and kimono throughout this apocalypse, spoke up once Ichigo finished speaking.

"My, my," he said, "Now that's a story. You should write that down so I can read it again."

"It wasn't _that_ good…" Nanao retorted, "Besides, you say that about every story you hear."

Shunsui smiled at her, "That's' because all stories are equally good in my mind."

"Anyways," Ichigo said, quickly stopping the forthcoming argument, "I told you my story, now tell me _yours_."

"Very well then," answered Uryu, "I'll do the honors. It was three days after your '_accident_' when everything started going downhill. An outbreak of walkers in the United States was all over the news, and the virus spread across the world very quickly. The countries in Europe were the first to catch it, followed by Africa, and it only took a week for the virus to reach Japan. Walkers began to overwhelm the living. Not even the armies could stop them. The Soul Society got involved not to stop the walkers, but because the souls inside the undead's bodies were not passing over, causing unbalance between the worlds."

"What happened to their souls?" Ichigo asked.

"They _**vanished**_." Ishida continued. "We don't know why the virus caused them to disappear, but it did. Anyways, the Soul Society began sending unranked officers to the World of the Living to investigate this obscurity. As soon as those Soul Reapers took a step into this world, the Reishi that their bodies were composed of _**broke down**_, killing them instantly. This is why the Soul Reapers you see before you are in Gigais. When they enter into these false bodies, the outer shell protects their spiritual composition from being destroyed by the virus. The problem is the Gigais also trap their original forms inside of them, forbidding them from using any powers such as Kido and Shunpo. Orihime, Chad, and my powers, however, vanished completely without anything to protect them from the virus."

"This is also to blame for the disappearance of the Zanpaku-to," added Hitsugaya, directing his words to Kurosaki. "Since they are spiritual weapons, the virus destroyed them."

"_**Hold on!**_" Ichigo shouted out of nowhere, causing a few of the refugees around the fire to jump, "You mean Zangetsu, my powers, and all you're Zanpaku-to, are gone forever?"

"For all that we know…" Toshiro struggled to finish his sentence, "…_**yes."**_

Silence fell over the fire pit. Ichigo was stunned, unable to accept the truth. Orihime could see his sadness, and grasped his hand in comfort. The other Soul Reapers, though they already knew that their swords and powers were gone, were saddened over Hitsugaya's statement as well.

Felling the need to break the silence, Rukia spoke up.

"Why don't you finish telling Ichigo about everything, Uryu?"

Ishida nodded in agreement.

"As I was saying, the Soul Society began sending seated officers in Gigais to the World of the Living to investigate this virus. The first to arrive through the Senkaimon were unable to make contact with the Seireitei once they arrived here. The Soul Society's response was to send more officers to retrieve them, which seemed like the logical action at first. But, as time went on, fewer and fewer Soul Reapers remained in the Seireitei. Word soon hit that Aizen had sent some of his own to the World of the Living to eradicate the officers positioned there, but that was not the case. We learned from Grimmjow that Aizen had abandoned him here along with his comrades. It was obvious that he no longer needed them after the news Kyoraku brought with him when he and Nanao arrived."

"Wait!" Ichigo interrupted. He looked at Shunsui and asked, "What news did you tell them?"

Kyoraku sighed, a frown on his usually smiling face.

"_**Aizen had attacked the Seireitei**_."

Kurosaki gasped. He would never in his wildest dreams imagine Aizen, or anyone for that matter, to lead an attack against the center of the Soul Society head on. There was one thing he knew he had to ask.

"Did he win?"

"As of now, we don't know," Shunsui said, "Nanao and I were told by Old Man Yama himself to retreat to here. The only ones who stayed behind were the Old Man and his lieutenant, Unohana, Jushiro, Kenpachi, and Byakuya. It was them versus Aizen, Ichimaru, and Tosen, plus this weird little Arrancar. That was four months ago, and none of them had made their way here yet. So the outcome doesn't seem to have come out in our favor."

"Can I ever finish a story without being interrupted more than once?" Uryu muttered loud enough for Shunsui to hear.

"Not this time," the Captain said with a smile, "I'll let you finish it up now, no interruptions. I promise."

"Thank you," the Quincy said before clearing his throat. "Now, by this time our group here all knew that the Soul Society had no hopes of eradicating this virus. So we collectively decided to stay close to Karakura Town, using the remaining food and supplies in its homes and shops to keep us alive. And here we are, months later, still surviving."

There was a brief silence, no one wanting to interrupt Uryu's possibly unfinished story.

"Okay, I'm done. You can ask your questions now, Ichigo."

The Quincy took a quick drink of water; he knew Kurosaki had many things to ask, and did not want to talk with a dry throat.

Ichigo looked down at his sisters. They had fallen asleep while Ishida filled him on what happened so far. This was the perfect time to ask about something that had been biting at him since he arrived at the campsite. He leaned in towards Uryu and softly spoke:

"Where's my dad?"

Ishida got the message, and answered the question in the same tone of voice as Ichigo's.

"No idea. When this broke out he left your sisters with us because he couldn't stand to see anything happen to either of them. Him and my father went out on their own, and never told us where they were heading. We try not to talk about him much around here, just in case mentioning him might stir up emotions in your sisters."

Ichigo let out a sigh of relief. '_At least he's not certainly dead._'

"So," Kurosaki started, his voice louder now, "What was I in the hospital for?"

"You were in a coma."

Ichigo looked to his right at Orihime, who had surprisingly answered his question.

"From what?"

Orihime turned her face towards the ground, a sad expression on her face. She hated talking about Ichigo getting hurt almost as much as seeing it happen.

"I was there when it happened. You were training with the Vizards, trying to gain control of your hollow powers. But something happened, something _**terrible**_."

She paused, taking in a deep breath.

"_**Your hollow overcame you."**_

Ichigo was dumbfounded. "How is that possible?" he asked, "From what I remember, I had him under control. How did he overcome me?"

"I couldn't tell you, Ichigo. But it took a lot of work from Shinji and his friends to keep you down. You broke Love's arm, and almost killed Hiyori. It was like you were a monster…" Orihime's voice began to trail off. Ichigo could see she didn't want to talk about the details, but he still wanted to know them.

"So, if you were there, why couldn't you use Soten Kishun to reject my injury?"

"I –I tried, but it didn't work. Not even Hachigen could get you out of it, so we thought human treatment might work. Your father said he couldn't stand to see you in his clinic every day like that, so we took you to a hospital a few miles away instead. I came to see you every day, hoping you'd wake up, but you never did. When the virus happened, I asked Uryu and a few others to go check on you, but they never even got inside the building."

"Because of walkers?" Ichigo asked.

"No," Orihime answered, "They lost somebody outside, and decided it was too risky to actually go inside."

'_She must be talking about Hanatoro_,' Kurosaki thought, remembering his encounter with the poor Soul Reaper turned walker.

"Well, at least you know I was safe there now," Ichigo said to the girl with a smile, who returned a small one back to him. He missed her smile almost more than anything for the past few days.

"It's getting dark out now," Shunsui spoke up. He was right; no one seemed to have noticed that the sun had fallen, and the moon taking its place. "We should probably put the fire out now. Don't wanna attract any walkers now, do we?"

"You don't gotta tell me twice, old man," answered Shuhei, while splashing a bucket of water over the flames. As soon as the light disappeared, everyone rose and headed towards their shelters. Kyoraku, Nanao, Izuru, and Hitsugaya got into the R.V, while Uryu began heading over to a perfectly built tent. Rukia pulled out a handgun from the inside of the worn out hoodie she was wearing, and loaded the barrel.

"I'll keep watch tonight, Hisagi," she said loudly, making sure Shuhei heard her.

"No," he answered, holding up his crossbow in her face, "My weapon's quieter. Go get some sleep, girl."

Kuchiki sighed, and concealed her handgun. "Goodnight, Ichigo," she said as she went over to her own tent.

"Same to you," he answered back. Ichigo looked at his sisters, fast asleep.

"You want some help getting them in a tent?" Chad asked him.

"Sure, just bring them over to Orihime's, I'll watch them there-"

"Actually, Chad," Inoue interrupted, looking at the elder Kurosaki, "Why don't you watch them tonight? I want to "talk" with Ichigo…"

Sado paused, and then realized what she meant by "talk".

"Okay. Don't worry, Ichigo, I'll let you guys "talk" _*wink*_ ."

"Umm…" stammered the orange haired teen, still not understanding a thing, "Sure… Whatever you say, Chad."

Yasutora effortlessly picked up both Kurosaki sisters under his arms and carried them off. Orihime held Ichigo by the hand and led him to her tent. As Ichigo bent down and crawled in the shelter, he noticed how neat and tidy the girl had kept her supplies. All her food was bagged, her clothes folded, and a small, barely flickering candle sat perfectly on the center of a tiny table.

"Look's like you got it made here," Kurosaki joked, receiving a smile from Orihime.

And then she kissed him.

It was no playful kiss; it was filled with passion and all of the love Orihime had for Ichigo. The latter was shocked, not expecting this from her. She slowly removed her lips from his, her hands now around his neck.

"Ichigo," Orihime said, blushing, "_**I love you**_. I always have, and always will. When all of this happened, I didn't think I could go on without you. I wanted to kill myselfand end my sorrow. But now that you're here, I just don't want to lose this opportunity. If you say no, I'll understand."

Kurosaki sat there, speechless, staring into her beautiful eyes. He had never said no to her before, and he certainly wasn't going to now.

"Orihime…" he tried to find the words to express how he felt, but couldn't. Instead, he leaned in and kissed her, just as she had done to him. During their moment, Inoue slowly fell onto her back, allowing Ichigo to be on top of her.

"You know..." Ichigo started, before kissing Orihime again, "… If we do this, you might get-"

"Ichigo," she answered quickly as she went to kiss him again, "Don't talk."

Orihime began to unzip Ichigo's vest, while he went to unbutton her shirt. As they undressed each other, the small candle that gave light to the tent slowly went out, covering the lovers in darkness, who were finally together again.

* * *

_Quote taken from "Gunslinger" by Avenged Sevenfold._


	7. Chapter 7 - The Hunt

_"Now, now my good man, this is no time to be making enemies."_

* * *

The soft pitter patter of rain echoed in the small tent that Ichigo and Orihime had spent the night in. It had fallen nonstop throughout the early hours of the day, the runoff dripping down the shelter and creating a mud pit beneath it. The watered ground seeped up through the bottom of the tent and created a thin puddle of brown water that sat on top of the thin canvas base. Earthy liquid found its way into Orihime's supplies, ruining her food and clothes she had stocked away. Those were not the only moist items in the tent, however; the bottom of the lover's mattress was ruined as well. Ichigo discovered this as he rolled his body over, still half asleep, and heard a loud squishing sound as he did so.

"Nnngh," he moaned, rubbing his eyes, "What the hell?"

He looked around the tent and saw the water and ruined supplies. Sighing, he looked away from the depressing sight and back to the girl beside him, still asleep. Ichigo kissed her on the cheek, and caressed her hair. He still couldn't believe what happened between them last night; for the longest time he knew Orihime had feelings for him, but he always saw her as just a close friend. But last night was different. Ichigo had seen something in her he never did before: beauty. Underneath all the despair she poured out to him, through all of the tears, he found that brightness shining through.

His thoughts soon turned away from Orihime to a loud scraping sound outside. Ichigo quickly slipped back into his dry clothes on the mattress he had taken off last night and stepped out of the tent.

Shuhei was sitting by the recently relit fire pit, sharpening an arrow on a piece of scrap. The former lieutenant glanced over at Kurosaki, before quickly turning his eyes back to his work.

"Mornin'," Hisagi said, "Guessing you got lucky last night, eh?"

"I wouldn't say it like that," Ichigo replied sheepishly, "Let's not discuss something that private. How was watch last night?"

"Easy as hell. I took a trip out into the woods and took out all the walkers in the area. Got some sleep for once."

"But what if more walkers would've come around?"

Hisagi jerked his thumb back to a large bag behind him. "That sack was full of meat; it's either all out in those woods now, or in some walker's stomach. How do you think I kept those things away from the camp this whole time?"

"Clever plan," Ichigo answered, "Wasn't that our food, though?"

"Yup."

"_**So you went through with it anyway?!**_"

"Don't shit your pants, Kurosaki. We're goin' hunting today."

* * *

"So, are you all set?" Ishida asked.

Thirty minutes had passed since Ichigo woke up, and the hunting party was assembled. Uryu was the first one ready, having filled his backpack with emergency supplies the previous night. Chad was loading a rifle, while Hisagi sharpened his last arrow. Ichigo, who was also ready, was waiting for Orihime to wake up before he departed. He didn't want the girl to awaken and wonder where he had gone off too, so he decided that the first face she would see that morning was his.

"She'll be asleep for a while, you know."

The sudden voice made Ichigo jump. He turned around to see Shunsui, sipping a cup of hot water. The former Captain looked quite happy, much to Kurosaki's surprise.

"Kyoraku," Ichigo started, "I didn't even notice you were up."

"I'm a morning person," Shunsui said with a smile, "You better get going, though. There aren't many animals in the woods to find nowadays."

"But I have to see Orihime-"

"Don't worry about her; I'll make sure she knows where you went. Uryu's waiting on you."

"Alright. Tell my sister's where I'm going, too."

"You got it."

Kyoraku watched as the four hunters climbed into one of the group's cars and slowly drove out into the wilderness.

* * *

The woods were deathly quiet, save for the sound of raindrops falling through the trees and down to the leaf-littered floor. A half-eaten body was slumped against the side of a thick trunk. Ever so slowly, its eyelids opened, revealing pale, lifeless orbs sitting in hollow sockets. The fingers on its one arm dug into the muddy ground. The reviving corpse let out a faint moan, the last sound to ever come from its body.

*_**CHNK!**_*

A man, dressed in heavy military gear, with greasy black hair hanging over his face, pulled his hunting knife from the walker's skull, the blade covered in blackened blood. His partner stood close by, his assault rifle pointed at the corpse.

"_**He's dead**_," the walker's slayer snapped at his partner, "Meaning you can stop pointing that _**fucking gun**_ toward me."

"Just being cautious, Jaitono," the other, younger man said as he lowered the firearm. "You know how these things can be."

Jaitono ignored him, busily searching through the corpse's torn clothing for any small supplies. All he found was an expired candy bar and a single bullet.

"Fuck, this one's got nothing." The older man stood up and pulled the gun from his partner's hands. "You ain't ever touchin' this here again, Aike."

Aike looked confusingly at Jaitono. "Why not? I didn't do anything wrong!"

"'Cause I don't trust your sorry ass pointin' it in my direction, that's why. Now **shut the fuck up **and get back to the jeep. Or I'll tell _**the boss**_ 'bout how you disobeyed his _**second in command**_."

As Jaitono mentioned their leader, any thought Aike had of talking back to him quickly vanished, and he began to trudge over to their vehicle, his superior snickering behind him.

Just as Aike opened the passenger side's door, he heard a faint sound in the distance.

"Hey!" he called to Jaitono, "You hear that?"

Jaitono raised a single finger, silencing his partner. Listening closely, he could make out the sounds of gunshots echoing through the sky.

"_**Get in the jeep,**_" he ordered hastily as he approached the vehicle, "_**We're gonna go pay them a visit.**_."

* * *

"This is the last one," Shuhei muttered as he slung the body of a duck over his shoulder. He and Ichigo had been shooting the waterfowl from the sky minutes ago, and were just retrieving their bodies from the tall grasses around a muddy lake. However, the two were less than successful, only being able to take down six birds.

"Maybe we should find some shotguns for next time," Ichigo said, "Those'd be easier for duck hunting."

"Too loud," Hisagi answered, "You should know that."

"I was just suggesting it… Can't I even do that?"

"Nope."

Suddenly, Ichigo saw two figures coming out from the woods out of the corner of his eye. He slowly reached his hand down to the pistol holstered to his belt, but then eased it away once he saw the approaching beings were Uryu and Chad. Neither of them was carrying the body of an animal, a sign of failure.

"Couldn't find nuthin'?" Hisagi called over to them.

"Not even a rabbit," Uryu sighed, "It seems the walkers devoured them all since last time. I can see you two have had better luck than us."

"Yeah, I guess we did," Ichigo said, holding up one of the dead ducks by the neck. "I'm glad these things don't turn."

"_**They do.**_" Chad answered darkly.

Ichigo looked at him, wide eyed, and then quickly back to the bird.

*_**QWACK!**_*

Kurosaki let out a loud scream as he chucked the fowl's body to the ground. Breathing heavily, he could hear the hysterical laughing of the other guys around him.

"_**What the hell's wrong with you guys!?**_" Ichigo yelled at them, "_**IT QWACKED!**_"

"No it didn't!" Shuhei laughed. He threw something small at Ichigo, who saw that it was a duck call.

"Oh, you guys are _**REAL FUNNY!"**_

* * *

While Ichigo and the others were hunting, everyone was wide awake back at the camp. The Kurosaki sisters were playing catch with an old beaten up baseball while Orihime and Rukia watched over them. Toshiro and Nanao were impatiently waiting by the fire pit for the hunters to return with breakfast, while Izuru was struggling to start a flame in front of them. Shunsui was nearby, whistling random song tunes to himself. As always, his actions began to irritate his former lieutenant, who was angry to begin with from lack of food.

"Will you stop that **damn whistling!**" Ise shouted at Kyoraku.

"Nope," he answered with a smile.

With that, Nanao stormed off towards the R.V, and promptly slammed the door.

Orihime and Rukia had watched her flip on her Captain, and her following departure. The later sighed after the camper's door was closed violently.

"She's got to learn to ease up," Rukia said to Orihime, "I'm getting tired of her doing that."

"Yeah…" Orihime said quietly. She looked worrisome; ever since learning that Ichigo had went hunting earlier, the girl had thought about him the entire time. Rukia could see that her friend was depressed, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Orihime," Kuchiki soothed, "Ichigo's fine. He survived on his own for quite a while, a few hours is a piece of cake for him."

"I know," Orihime answered, "But anything can happen. Don't you remember what happened to Hanatoro?"

"**Stop worrying**. He'll be back. Besides, Ichigo's a lot tougher than Hanatoro could have ever been."

"I guess you're right – _**OOOF!**_"

The Kurosaki sister's baseball bounced off Orihime's head, landing in her lap.

"Sorry, Orihime!" Karin called from afar. Yuzu ran over to retrieve the ball, and Inoue politely handed it to her. The youngest sister, though she was just playing, looked just as worried as Orihime did.

"Thanks," Yuzu whispered before going back to her sister.

Rukia watched her leave, and then looked at Orihime, who was once again visibly depressed.

"_You better be alright, Ichigo…"_

* * *

The road back to the campsite was a bumpy one – and a quiet one. Uryu was cruising down the road, plowing through debris and corpses scattered across it. Chad sat in the passenger seat, perfectly still, while Shuhei sat behind him chewing on a toothpick. Ichigo was still angry over the prank the others pulled on him, and gazed out the truck window through the duration of the ride. He watched out into the woods, catching sight of walkers trudging around trees and logs, searching for flesh.

"_Zombie ducks…"_Ichigo thought to himself, "_How the hell did I fall for __**that**__?"_

"Umm, guys," Uryu said questionably, breaking the silence, "Am I the only one who sees that jeep behind us?"

At that everyone turned and looked out the back window, and sure enough the jeep was there. A large, spiky iron grill adorned its front, while the rest of the vehicle was painted in black and grey cameo. Hanging out the passenger side window was a young, short brown haired man who looked no less than twenty, gripping a pistol in his right hand. An older man wearing a bandanna over his mouth drove the jeep, his greasy black hair hanging over his face. The vehicle began to pick up speed, and moved to pull up beside the group's truck.

"What do they want?" Chad asked.

"Who fucking cares, they got a gun!" Ichigo shouted while loading his pistol. Shuhei suddenly ripped the firearm from his hand.

"Don't you remember our talk about guns bein' too loud?" Hisagi lifted his crossbow for Ichigo to see. "I'll take 'em out _quietly_."

With that, Shuhei kicked open the side door and began to climb up onto the hood of the moving truck. He quickly gained his balance, and pulled two arrows from his belt.

In the other vehicle, Aike was struggling with aiming his pistol at the Soul Reaper. Having only held a firearm only once or twice before, his accuracy standing still was questionable, but while hanging out of a moving car, it was obvious he would never get close to hitting his target.

"Fucking shoot him!" the older man snapped, "Before he kills you!"

"_**Slow down a little bit, Jaitono!**_" Aike yelled, "_**I can't – ACK!**_"

It was a perfect shot: Hisagi's arrow pierced right through the center of Aike's neck.

The young man coughed up a mouthful of blood before his body fell to the road through the open window. Jaitono watched his partner's corpse roll away from the jeep down the barren highway.

"Son of a bitch…" the driver murmured. He was too busy watching the body on the road to notice Shuhei aiming his weapon at his tires.

"Say goodbye to your wheels too, buddy," Shuhei said to himself as he pulled the trigger.

The sound of the popping wheel echoed throughout the forest. Jaitono struggled to keep control of the spinning out jeep, and managed to veer it into a roadside ditch. Hisagi smirked from the top of his escaping truck as he watched the other man crawl out of the jeep.

"Looks like you took care of that," Ichigo said as Shuhei climbed back into the vehicle.

"Eh, nothing to it," he answered. "I wonder what the hell they wanted."

"Let's not worry about it," Uryu said, "We took care of them, and will most likely not see that man again. And to make sure of it, we're going to leave this car on the highway and walk back to camp. That way he won't be able to follow our tire tracks in the woods."

"Won't we have to carry the supplies then?" Chad asked.

Ichigo smirked. "You're strong, you could carry them all by yourself."

"That's not funny, Ichigo."

"Neither was the zombie duck."

"Will you quit bitching about that damn duck!"

* * *

'_Fuck!' _

Jaitono was furious. The jeep was totaled, his partner dead on the road. Nothing could make this worse, not even a pack of walkers.

Well, there was the punishment awaiting him back at The Sancutuary.

'_FUCK!'_

He had been eyewitness to punishments before, and they were not pretty. Broken arms, missing fingers, and eye patches were all results that came from them. Jaitono had actually performed punishments before, and had never imagined that he would have to become victim to one.

Or, actually have to perform one on himself.

'_**FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!'**_

* * *

"Ichigo's back!"

Orihime's head turned in a flash after hearing Yuzu's voice. She was sitting outside her tent ringing out her dampened clothes, but immediately abandoned them to the source of the little girl's yelling. Orihime soon arrived at the area where Ichigo and his fellow hunters were laying down their supplies. Ichigo was handing the ducks over to Hitsugaya when Inoue ran into him and embraced him tightly. She was about to speak, but Kurosaki did first.

"I'm sorry I left you this morning," he said to her, "I was going to wait for you to wake up, but the guys needed me. I hope you understand."

"Of course, of course!" she answered quickly, "I wasn't worried. Well, not that much. Rukia helped me out with that."

"You're welcome," Rukia chimed in out of nowhere.

"Anyways, how did it go, Ichigo?"

"Pretty good, we got six ducks. Some other stuff happened, but it's not important now."

"What stuff?"

Ichigo didn't really want to tell Orihime about the men in the jeep, but he felt that she'd encountered worse in this world already.

"Well, we ran into two guys with a gun."

"WHAT?!"

Everyone looked at the pair, some wondering what caused the girl to yell.

"_Well, might as well tell everyone…_" Ichigo thought.

"Easy, Orihime. So, everyone, we ran into two guys today in a jeep, and one had a gun. They didn't get a chance to attack, thanks to Shuhei. We left one of 'em stranded on the road. The other one, well, didn't get off so lucky."

"What did they want?" Nanao asked.

"Do they know we're all here?" followed Izuru.

"I don't know, and no they don't," Uryu answered. "So that means we have no reason to worry -

"Hold up, Uryu," Ichigo interrupted, "Let's not just forget about this. There could be more of those guys. In truth, they were actually kinda close to our camp here. What if they _**do **_find us, Uryu?"

"_**They aren't going to.**_ It sounds like you think we should _**leave**_, Ichigo."

"It would be the safe thing to do."

"I gotta agree with Kurosaki, Ishida," Kyoraku added. "If these guys had a gun, they wouldn't hesitate to kill us for supplies. And if there _**is**_ more of them, well, we'd be up a creek without a paddle."

"_**We're not leaving!**_" Uryu shouted abruptly, to everyone's surprise. He quickly regained his composure and calmly said, "We've been safe here for too long. There's no point in leaving behind something as good as this."

"But Uryu-

"No buts, Ichigo. I'm the one who decides this, _**not you**_. We're staying, and that's final."

With that, the Quincy stormed off towards the R.V. Everyone was shocked to see him lose his cool, especially Ichigo.

"I've never seen him act like that before," Izuru murmured.

"Neither have I," said Orihime. She looked at Ichigo. "Maybe you should talk with him."

Ichigo was staring at the R.V. "I think he needs time to himself, Orihime. I'll make sure to later."

Meanwhile, Toshiro was sitting by the fire, plucking feathers from the ducks with Chad. He was reaching over to pick up another duck when he noticed something on the large man's arm.

"You're bleeding…" he said quietly, "Were you scratched?"

"Huh? Oh, no, not by a walker. Just on the truck door when we left it on the highway. Nothing to worry about."

* * *

"_Raagh…_"

The walker was hungry. It had been wandering for five days, and had found no sign of food.  
Until now.

It could smell the delicacy from a mile away: the scent of fresh blood, dripping from a wound. Soon, the owner of the wound would be his to tear into, savoring every inch of flesh and meat.

Even with its incredibly simple brain, it knew that this metal machine was not prey. It did have blood on it, but he could not puncture its hide.

But, he could still smell more blood, coming from some distance away, farther into the woods. The beast headed towards the tree line, intent on finding its source.

And so were the twenty other walkers behind him, all salivating for the blood of Yasutora Sado…

* * *

**In memoriam:**

**Aike**

**"We didn't know you that well, but hey, you were the first person to die. So, congrats."**

_Quote by Voltaire._


	8. Chapter 8 - Punishments

_"So hopeless and relentless falls this remorseless day,_

_The dark reality of a hostile world..."_

* * *

Night had fallen, and Jaitono was still waiting.

The rain from that morning had stopped, but the rumbling of thunder occasionally echoed throughout the night sky. It was suitably ominous, for something terrible was going to happen soon.

Jaitono was sitting inside The Sanctuary's meeting room, wringing out the clothes he wore that day. They were drenched from the 2 – mile walk back from the broken down jeep. On that walk, he thought about if he should have buried Aike's body, and about the past.

When he and the others established The Sanctuary, things were good. The refugees living inside the walled community were happy, and their leader never showed his wicked face. Jaitono had lived peacefully with his wife, never thinking he would become the first lieutenant to a madman, let alone anyone.

But all that changed when the first walker got behind the walls.

His leader's excessive control issues spiraled out of control. He started sending men out on raids for weapons; those who returned empty handed were punished by Jaitono, which was the worst thing that could have happened to the man. His marriage started to disintegrate after his wife learned of the acts he committed, and his overall attitude turned sour. For a while, he enjoyed what he did, but it was only until today that he realized what horrid things he had done.

And now he was going to get what he deserved.

*_Knock-Knock_*

Jaitono's stomach dropped. He looked over at the door.

"May I come in?"

That voice.

That horrible, rasping voice.

"Y- yes," Jaitono stammered, "It's open."

He watched his leader slowly open the door, making sure it creaked at the hinges. The entering man closed the door just as slowly, and looked Jaitono right in the eyes. Jaitono couldn't do the same to him, solely out of fear. In fact, he could barely look at the man; his entire person was intimidating. He was wearing his signature army jacket, all of his weapons holstered on it. Over that he wore a worn out leather jacket, stained with the blood of walkers and humans alike. The worst part, however, was the mask. It was an old WW2 gas mask, with a scorched surface and maroon tinted lenses. The seated man could tell that his superior had a sadistic grin on his face underneath it.

"So, Jaitono," he asked loudly, "I heard Aike didn't return with you today. Correct?"

"C -correct, sir."

"And also that the group you encountered managed to escape as well?"

Jaitono nodded. His superior sat down in the chair across from him, never taking his eyes off of his subordinate. A few moments of dead silence passed before the former spoke.

"There's no need to be afraid, Jaitono."

The statement caught Jaitono off-guard. "Excuse me, sir?"

"I said you don't have to be afraid, my friend. You're still going to be punished, but I'm not going to hurt you. Physically,that is. I can't afford to have a second in command with a missing limb, can I?"

The masked man chuckled after his last sentence, his morbid sense of humor slipping out. Jaitono did as well, but only to stay on his superior's good side.

"I guess you're right, sir. That wouldn't be good at all."

"No, no it wouldn't… You and your wife still live in house 36 – G, right?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, we do. Why do you ask?"

"Just needed to know." The masked man stood up and went to leave. Jaitono was about to do the same when his superior raised his hand towards him.

"Oh no, we're not done here yet. I'll be back. Don't even think about leaving, or I **will **cut off your arm."

Jaitono quickly sat down. He went pale as the other man slowly walked out the door.

Just outside of the room, a burly man named Gentu was waiting for his leader. The masked man beckoned for him to come closer.

"How did it go in there, sir?" Gentu asked.

"**Perfect**. I need you to go to house 36 – G."

"What would like for me to do there, sir?"

"There's a woman inside. Put a bag over her head and bring her here. I think you know how the rest goes."

"Indeed I do, sir."

* * *

"_**Dammit!**_"

Ichigo, Orihime, and the rest of the group watched as Izuru failed to reignite the fire pit for the tenth time in a row. Though the rain had stopped, the logs in the pit were drenched and would not light. Angered, Kira tossed away the rock and stick he had been using to start a flame and sat down in the mud.

"I'm sorry, guys," Izuru said, "I just can't get it to start."

"Not like it would matter," scoffed Nanao, "It's just going to start raining again."

"Now Nanao, play nice," Kyoraku said, his mouth full of potato chips, "No need to kick the man while he's down."

Ichigo had tuned out the voices around him, his thoughts concentrated on the situation with Uryu. Since his outburst that morning, the Quincy had not spoken to him at all. He was meaning to pull him aside and talk to him about it, but had never found a good time to; however, now seemed like a perfect time to do so.

"Hey, Uryu," Ichigo said to the Quincy, "Can we talk in private?"

Ishida gave him a nasty look, before answering.

"Fine."

As the two stood up to leave, Yuzu reached over and tugged on her brother's shirt, a signal for him to kneel down. Ichigo did so, and his younger sister whispered into his ear.

"_I gotta pee…_"

"_Then go,_" he whispered back.

"_I don't wanna walk over alone. It's scary out there._"

"_Fine_… Hold up Uryu, I gotta take Yuzu to the R.V."

"No, Ichigo. We _**do**_ have to talk. Karin, take your sister."

Ichigo couldn't believe what his friend had just said: No one ordered his sisters around except for himself.

"Whatever," the elder sister sighed, "Come on, sis."

The two Kurosaki sisters made their way towards the R.V while Ichigo and Uryu went away from the campsite. Once they were a good fifty feet away, they stopped. Before Uryu could even open his mouth, Ichigo spoke.

"_**What the hell was that?**_"

Ishida was shocked at his words. "Excuse me?"

"You let Karin walk with Yuzu to the R.V. **Alone**. They're only little girls, what if they get attacked?"

"Ichigo, please. This place is safe. Nothing's going to get them."

"Yeah, about that. I don't really think it's safe here anymore-

"You're not going to let that go, aren't you?"

"As a matter of fact, _**no**_. It seems you forgot about what happened this morning with the guys in the jeep. And don't you remember the thousands of undead out in these woods? We can't stay in one place for this long of time, something's eventually going to find us. Why won't you understand that?"

Uryu waited a few moments before answering.

"Because of **you**."

"_**What?**_

"Before you came back, I was in charge. For once, I got to be the leader. Our friends turned to me for guidance, and the Soul Reapers respected me when they knew I was a Quincy. So why is it when you suddenly come back, everyone decides to side you?"

Ishida pointed his finger at Kurosaki menacingly.

"**Because you're one of them, a Soul Reaper**. **Because Chad sees you as a closer friend**. **Because Orihime is in love with you**. **Because you're better than ME!** **Establishing this place was the first thing I did for the group, and I'm not going to let you take that away. I'm keeping everyone here, NO MATTER WHAT!"**

Before the situation could escalate even further, Ichigo and Uryu heard a stomach dropping sound.

"_**AIYEEE!"**_

"_**YUZU!**_"

In an instant, Ichigo was sprinting back to the campsite, leaving Ishida in the dust. As he drew nearer, he could hear the moaning of walkers, and soon the sound of gunshots ringing in the air.

*_**BANG!**_*

"_**Where the hell did these things come from?!" **_Izuru yelled to Hitsugaya as he shot a walker in the skull. The later had just put a bullet in the head of an undead woman, and was preparing to do the same to another one.

"Don't talk, just kill them!" Toshiro answered back; however, he was wondering the same thing that Kira was. One moment everyone was sitting quietly, until Yuzu screamed and a pack of walkers show up out of nowhere. The group quickly sprang into action: Shuhei immediately had his crossbow in his hands, piercing undead skulls with arrows. Chad began bashing heads with a baseball bat, while Rukia, Nanao and Kyoraku (with guns in hand) joined Toshiro and Kira in firing at the horde.

"Where's Orihime?" Rukia asked while shoving a child walker away from her. Before someone could answer, she quickly shot the beast dead.

"She went to check on Ichigo's sisters!" Nanao replied from a distance.

"_**Alone?!**_" Kuchiki exclaimed. Worried for her friend, the diminutive Soul Reaper rushed towards the R.V where the sisters were last at.

Just as Rukia ran off, Ichigo arrived on the scene. He quickly looked around at the ensuing carnage, scanning for Orihime and his siblings. A walker quickly noticed the orange haired teen and lunged at him. Kurosaki quickly bashed its brains in with his hammer, and then went on to help his friends. After taking out a couple more of the undead, he made his way over to Hisagi, who was pulling an arrow out of a corpse's head.

"_**Where are they!?**_"

"Who?" Shuhei responded, "Orihime and your sisters?"

"_**WHO ELSE!**_"

"At the R.V, Rukia just went to check on 'em."

With that, Ichigo dashed towards the camper, dodging and killing walkers the entire way. The closer he got to the R.V, the faster his heart raced. Kurosaki could see nothing in front of the R.V; the large vehicle was parked behind all of their cars, which blocked everything from view. Not wanting for the anxiety to eat at him any longer, he slid over the hood of Izuru's red Sedan, landing perfectly on the other side.

And then he saw the scene unfold.

Rukia was standing there, shaking, hands to her mouth, gun lying on the ground.

Orihime on her knees, tears pouring from her face.

A walker was dead on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding its head.

And Yuzu sat there, cradling the dying Karin in her arms, a gaping bite mark on the elder sister's neck.

"No…"

Ichigo fell to his knees, his eyes filling with tears. He slowly crawled over to his sisters.

"I- I don't what happened," Orihime cried, "I got here, and she was just… _**just**_…"

For the first time in his life, Ichigo ignored her voice.

'_This isn't happening…_' was all the poor teen could think as he looked upon the dying Karin. He gingerly took her from Yuzu's arms.

"H-Hang on, Karin," Ichigo stammered, "Don't leave me, _please_, _**please!**_"

"_I…_ _Ichi- go_?" Blood trickled from the young girls mouth. "_Is… that yo-__**ACK!**_"

She heaved up a mouthful of blood, its contents landing on Ichigo's vest.

Then Karin Kurosaki went limp in her brother's arms.

All Ichigo could do was look at her, devastated.

Yuzu stared at Karin's lifeless body from a few feet away.

"_**Karin?**_" she said between tears.

There was no answer. She stood up, her body shaking, and stumbled over to her brother.

"_**Help her, Ichigo!**_"

Ichigo said nothing. Seconds of deathly silence passed before Yuzu fell onto her brother, crying into his chest.

"_**SAVE HER!**_"the little girl screamed into his chest, "_**DO SOMETHING, ICHIGO! DO SOMETHING!**_"

Desperately, she shook her sister's body, with no response.

"_**KARIN!"**_

At that moment Hisagi ran in from around the cars, everyone else close behind.

"_**What's goin' on he-**_ _oh, no…_"

The group just stood there, not sure of what to do. Kyoraku was the first to act, and solemnly removed the hat from his head. Shuhei, Hitsugaya and Kira lowered their heads, while Nanao quickly walked away with her face to the ground, not wanting anyone to see her tears. She bumped into Chad, who was late to the scene with Uryu. The former was holding onto his arm, a bloody cloth wrapped around it.

"Chad, were you…" Nanao stuttered, "_**Were you bit?**_"

"Yes, I was. One of those things caught me by surprise. Don't worry about me though, what happened here?"

"It's Karin, she's…" Ise sniffed, "She's dead!"

Silence. Chad was too shocked to speak. Uryu, on the other hand, said the first thing on his mind:

"_Did she turn yet?_"

Two hands quickly grabbed the Quincy by the collar.

"_**How could you ask that?!**_" Nanao screamed at him. "_**That girl just died, you bastard!**_"

"You don't think I know that? I'm sad too, but if she hasn't turned yet, you know what has to be done!"

"_**Well, I'm sure as hell not doing it!**_"

Nanao pushed Ishida away, glaring at him. The Quincy walked towards the R.V, removing the pistol from his belt. As he came around the corner, he stopped to look at the scene before him. Karin's body was on the ground, covered by a blanket. Ichigo was hugging Yuzu tightly, until he noticed Uryu standing behind the others. He released Yuzu and quickly stormed over to the Quincy.

"Ichigo," Uryu started, which was as far as he got before Ichigo punched him in the face. He fell onto the side of one of the cars, which Kurosaki pinned him to by his neck.

"_**THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" **_Ichigo screamed into his face. Before Ishida could do anything else, his attacker threw him into the side of the R.V. Kurosaki ran and kicked the Quincy in the stomach, causing him to cough up blood.

"Ichigo, _**STOP!**_" Orihime yelled. Instead of using their voices, Shuhei and Izuru quickly restrained Ichigo, holding him back so he could no longer hurt Uryu.

"This is not - *ngh* - my fault, you bastard," Uryu said, wiping the blood from his mouth.

"_**How isn't it? You're the one who told her to go with Yuzu!**_"

"At least she's still alive!"

"_**The BOTH should be!**_"

"Both of you, _**BE QUIET!**_"

Ichigo and Ishida stopped and turned towards Kyoraku, the source of the voice. Not one member of the group had ever heard him raise his voice in anger, let alone at all.

"Now that I have everyone's attention," Shunsui started, "This isn't a time to fight: It's a time to mourn, to remember Karin. This isn't what the poor girl would want. However…there is something we have to do. As we know, she died from a bite wound, which means that her body is going to reanimate in some time. So that means somebody has to go ahead and use this."

The former Captain reached into his kimono and pulled out a revolver. He held the firearm out for someone to take.

"Personally, I think you should do it, Ichigo. She was your sister, after all."

"I – I don't think I can…"

"Can you at least try?"

Kurosaki hesitated for a few moments, looking at the revolver in Kyoraku's hands, then back to where Karin's body lay.

"_Orihime," _he murmured,_ "Take Yuzu away. Cover her ears…_"

"Ichigo…" Orihime started.

"_**DO IT.**_"

Inoue closed her eyes and nodded. She grabbed the crying Yuzu by the hand and walked away. A whole five minutes passed before Ichigo did anything; he wanted his sister to be as far away as possible.

"_**Give me the gun.**_"

A single tear ran down his face as he took the weapon. The entire group, even Uryu, bowed their heads in respect. Ichigo knelt over by Karin's covered body, and kissed her forehead through the sheet. Slowly, he placed the barrel on the spot where his lips just were.

"_I'm sorry, Karin… __**I love you.**_"

*BANG!*

* * *

*_**THUMP-THUMP!**_*

The hard knocking on the door woke Jaitono from his nap. He quickly sat up.

"Is that you, sir?" he asked.

"Who else? _**Open up**_."

"It's unlocked, sir."

The door suddenly flew open, and two armed men ran inside, guns aimed at Jaitono. Before the later could react, one of them pinned him to the table, and the other tied his hands to his back.

"_**What the fuck?!**_" Jaitono screamed at them, "_**What're you two doing?**_

"Getting shit done, Jaitono. Unlike _**you**_."

"Now now, you two…"

Jaitono looked up from the table to see his superior standing in the doorway, hands behind his back. Gentu stood behind him, and was restraining someone with a bag over their head. The masked man walked over to the table, beckoning Gentu to come forward with their hostage.

"Don't hurt him too badly," the madman continued, "I promised that he would be given no physical harm. Isn't that right, Jaitono?"

"_**What the hell is this?" **_Jaitono screamed at his leader, who merely laughed at his anger.

"_**Your punishment.**_ Gentu, remove the bag."

"As you wish, sir."

The masked man's henchman shoved the other prisoner to their knees, and removed the cloth from their head. The prisoner was a woman; her once beautiful face was covered in bruises and scars, duct tape covered her mouth, and her blond hair was soaked with blood. Jaitono looked upon her, and immediately began to cry.

"Please…" he begged, "_**Please, not my wife!**_"

The woman opened her eyes at the sound of the crying man. She looked him in the eyes, and tried to speak, her voice muffled by the tape.

"Oh, yes," the masked man said, "I guess you can't talk with that on you, huh?"

He grabbed the adhesive on her face and pulled it off hard, causing her to scream. Laughing at her pain, the masked man thrust his knee into her jaw, knocking her unconscious.

"Not that your voice needs to be heard anyways, you _**stupid**_ _**whore**_…" With that, he reached into his trench coat and pulled out a sawed-off shotgun. Two snake skeletons were engraved into its barrel, and ran down the entire length of the gun. The masked man twirled the firearm in his hand before quickly pistol whipping the captive woman. Tossing the pistol into the air, he caught it by the handle and placed the barrel on the back of the prisoner's head, finger on the trigger.

"Now, Jaitono are you ready to be punished?"

"_**Please, Sethrin,**_" the prisoner's husband begged, using his superior's birth name as a sign of their once-existent friendship, "_**Don't kill her, KILL ME!**_"

"Then this wouldn't be a punishment, my friend… Oh, and my name _**isn't Sethrin…**_"

He cocked the firearm.

"It's _**Kingpin.**_"

*BANG!*

* * *

**In Memoriam:**

**Karin Kurosaki**  
**Jaitono's Wife**

**Two lives, ended much too short.**

_Quote taken from "The Day You Died" by Arch Enemy._


	9. Chapter 9 - 3

_"No you don't believe in me,_

_And I sure as hell don't trust in you..."_

* * *

Three days had passed since Karin's death, and normality had not yet returned. A dead silence usually occupied the camp, albeit broken by occasional conversation. Both Ichigo and Uryu had exiled themselves away from the others; the former out of grief and the latter of embarrassment and shame. However, the one most affected by the tragedy was Yuzu Kurosaki. The only person to see the devastated young girl was Orihime, who allowed her to stay in her tent. Ichigo refused to see his sister, believing that he failed her, which is actually what the young girl thought exactly of him.

Tension was not the only problem in the group, though.

Chad, who had been bitten during the attack, was not faring well. The bite wound on his arm had become infected, and his entire health was diminishing. The big man would slip in and out of consciousness every hour. Orihime divided her time between Karin and tending for her dying friend. This morning she was re-wrapping the bandage over his infected arm.

"Nngh…" Chad winced as Inoue tried to delicately pull the bloodied cloth off his arm.

"Sorry," Orihime said, "I know it hurts, but I have to do this."

She carefully removed the bandage off, and soon averted her eyes from the arm. The flesh around the wound had turned black, with large bubbles of pus dotted in the darkened flesh, ready to burst. Orihime could barely hold back from heaving from what she saw. There was no way she could look at the infected arm again; someone else would have to do the job. She looked outside the tent and saw Hitsugaya walking by.

"Hey, Shiro, can you help me out?"

"My name is _**not**_ Shiro, Orihime," the white haired boy scolded, "Its _**Toshiro.**_"

"Sorry… but will help me?"

"Fine."

The former Captain crawled into Chad's tent, and cringed as soon as he saw the infected limb. Luckily, it wasn't as disgusting to him as it was to Inoue, whom was handing him a roll of bandage.

"Can you re-wrap it, Shi - I mean, Toshiro?" she asked.

"I don't think it's going to matter, Orihime…" Hitsugaya said while looking at the resting Sado, "The infection has already spread too far. His chances of surviving are very, _**very **_slim."

"We can still take care of him…"

"We'll be wasting supplies, Orihime. I know he's your friend, and ours as well, but we all know how this will end."

Inoue's eyes were beginning to water as she realized Hitsugaya was right. Still, she held the bandages to Hitsugaya again.

"He might still make it. _Please, _Toshiro, just do this for me…"

"Can't you see he's suffering? The more you do this, the longer he feels pain."

"But-"

"_He's right. Orihime…_"

Startled, Orihime looked at the awoken Chad. His eyes were pale, his face drained of blood. Coughing, he spoke again:

"_I know you want to – __**nngh**__ –_ _help me. But I'm not going to beat this… I'm tired of suffering, Orihime. I want to end this… __**Give me a gun**__."_

"_Chad…_" Inoue was grasping Chad's un-infected hand, tears streaming down her face.

"_Don't – __**nngh**__ - cry, Orihime. This is what I want."_

"Are you sure about this, Sado?" Hitsugaya asked. He subtly pulled his pistol from his hoodie so only Chad could see it, showing that he could do the deed immediately.

"_Yeah… I am."_

Toshiro tugged on Orihime's shirt, urging her to leave. She hugged the dying Chad, kissing him on the cheek, and then quickly crawled out of the ten, sobbing all the way. Hitsugaya gave his pistol to Chad.

"There's one bullet."

"_That's all I need… Tell Ichigo to protect you all. Protect yourselves, too. Don't – __**nngh**__ – end up like me… Goodbye, Toshiro…."_

"Goodbye, Sado."

The young boy left the tent in silence. As he walked away, others began to gather at the scene, all of them around the crying Orihime. Even Ichigo and Uryu had appeared, wondering what all the commotion was. The former hurried over to Hitsugaya, a look of worry on his face.

"What's going on here, Hitsu-"

_***BANG!***_

Everyone froze at the sound. Heads quickly turned towards Chad's tent.

"_**NO!**_" Ichigo screamed.

He dashed towards the tent, slipping on the muddy ground in the process. Desperately crawling on all fours, Kurosaki literally fell into the shelter. Inside lie the motionless body of Chad, the brain inside splattered on the vinyl wall above and behind it. A cloth was placed over its face; the result of the young man's last action before pulling the trigger.

Ichigo did not cry.

He was not saddened over his friend's death, though they had been very close. No memories of the two of them bonding, training, or battling together raced through his mind. There was no anger, no grief, no self-blame. All that Ichigo felt…

… was emptiness_**.**_

* * *

"Stupid fucks…"

Kingpin was sitting in his home office, watching the citizens of The Sanctuary from his window carrying out their life. A group of children were tossing a ball in the street. An elderly couple shared lunch on a park bench, while their dog marked his territory on a nearby tree. Men and women, whose names Kingpin couldn't give less of a fuck about, walked down the sidewalks, conversing on trivial matters.

It made the masked man sick.

Kingpin despised these people, the ones whom he saved and sheltered when the outbreak occurred. He acted as their savior, a messiah during a time of terror and death, in return for their undivided loyalty and obedience. Though they knew nothing of his history, the people looked upon him with admiration and respect for leading them. Kingpin saw them as nothing but blind little sheep that would follow a child if they were well enough convinced.

When he and his followers had met a small group of soldiers and their families, led by Jaitono Kamanaga, the people seemed to forget the world around them. They became careless, lazy, and defenseless. Just like sheep. And sheep need to be herded, contained, protected from predators, which is why he had The Sanctuary constructed. Jaitono and his group were more than willing to help build, for they would have safety as well.

Things went well for a while, until the first walker made its way into the walls. Panic ensued. The non-militant civilians ran like headless chickens; two died during the chaos.

Three more died the day afterward, not by wounds from the walker, but by Kingpin's hand.

Their names were Keita, Meisho, and 'Lil' Giet, all three of them family members of the two who perished the day before. They abandoned their loved ones, their own blood, in order to save themselves, something Kingpin didn't approve of. He saw them as scum before, and their actions only intensified that view more. So, he murdered them: death was all they deserved.

After that, his rule became stricter. Of course, he never told the remaining "flock" the truth about his three victims; they would have revolted instantly. Instead, he used Jaitono and the soldiers as a secret police, using them to enforce his command on those who he deemed "Rebel Scum", through means of torture, murder, and (his personal favorite) the "Pulling of the Strings".

Now, the "Pulling of the Strings" first came about a few weeks following the walker break in. There was one particular man, named Arinte, who was poking into areas best left alone, those being the deaths of Keita, Meisho, and 'Lil' Giet. When Arinte confronted his leader on the matter, the latter brushed off his claims, even when Arinte threatened to tell the other people of The Sanctuary that their "savior" was actually an insane murderer. Just as soon as Arinte left Kingpin's quarters, the devious madman went to work. His plan was simple: to fool his people into believing that Arinte murdered the three deceased.

It was quite a simple procedure: Kingpin sent Arinte on a simple scouting mission with some others, while he planted the corpses of Keita, Meisho, and 'Lil' Giet in his target's house. The next day, Kingpin went to Arinte and talked with him, saying that he understood the reasoning behind his claims, and offered to make amends by throwing a banquet at his home. His foolish victim fell for the bait, and, later that night at the feast, someone found the bodies of Keita, Meisho, and 'Lil' Giet. The townsfolk soon turned on Arinte, some actually attacking him, all while the victim screamed about how their leader "set him up". Nobody believed him, of course. Arinte was quickly tossed outside of The Sanctuary, left to die at the hands of the undead. His exiling was not a good enough punishment in Kingpin's eyes, however, so he sent Jaitono and some militants to bring him back for torture.

Two months later, Arinte died after days of slow, agonizing pain and suffering.

And now, Kingpin was ready to do it again, this time to Jaitono.

Ever since he learned of his second-in command's failure, Kingpin was anxiously waiting to pull some strings. Jaitono had not left his home since seeing his wife murdered right in front of him, and civilians had soon become suspicious after not seeing either him or his dead spouse for three days. These were the perfect conditions for Kingpin to bring Jaitono's life spiraling down.

All he needed to do now was wait for some stupid fuck to find the body.

* * *

Miles away, Ichigo's group had just finished laying Chad's body to rest in a small grave. Without shovels, the task of digging a hole large enough for Yasutora was quite a challenge. Shuhei and Izuru, who volunteered to shovel out the earth, were exhausted and lying in the grass about twenty feet away, the blades softly blowing in the small breeze.

"And I thought diggin' the grave for Karin was hard…" Hisagi panted, "We should probably find shovels, in case we gotta do this again."

"Let's hope there isn't a next time, Shuhei," Izuru said, "I can't stand to see another one of these."

What Kira meant by 'these' were the mock funerals that the group had given to Hanatoro, Karin and (presently) Chad. The two gravediggers had opted out on this one, both being too tired to stand. No one spoke during the funeral; they all felt that a moment of silence suited much better than a eulogy. The only sounds were the soft crying of Orihime and Yuzu, and the rustling of the trees in the wind.

Ishida stood a good ten feet away from the others. The Quincy no longer wanted to be beside these Soul Reapers. He felt that they abandoned him, instead wishing to be led by one of their own other than a member of the race they purged all those years ago. Ishida eyed Ichigo with resentment as the latter took a step forward towards Chad's grave, ready to say something that could pass as a eulogy.

"I know not many of you knew Chad for that long, and that he barely spoke, but he was a good man, a good _**friend**_. He was strong, kind, everything that a friend should be. It's just not going to be the same without - _**OOOFF!**_"

"_**GODDAMMIT, ICHIGO! IT WASN'T MY FUCKING FAULT!"**_

Nobody could believe what they just saw. Heads turned towards Uryu, who had just lost more than his temper. The enraged Quincy had sucker-punched Ichigo with a solid right hook to the jaw, knocking the orange haired teen to the ground. With blood trickling from his mouth, Ichigo prepared to stand up, only to be kicked back down to the ground by Uryu. In a surprisingly out of character action, Orihime went at Uryu, using her nails to claw his left cheek, drawing blood.

"Stay away from him, _**you bastard!**_" Inoue screamed, her emotions fueling her rage. Uryu was taken aback by her actions, and froze in front of the group, looking all of them in the eyes. They answered in overwhelming disapproval: Nanao and Hitsugaya glared at him with eyes set to kill, Rukia stared in disbelief, and Kyoraku merely shook his head as if saying "Why?"

Ishida then looked over at Ichigo, who was being helped to his feet by Orihime and Yuzu. Kurosaki glared at his former friend while wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. One would think he would lunge at his attacker like he did a few nights before, where in fact the only angry person present was Inoue.

"_**What's wrong with you, Uryu?!**_" The girl screamed at Ishida, who tried to answer.

"Orihime… I…"

At that moment, Shuhei and Izuru came into the scene.

"We heard yelling," Izuru said, "What's going on here?"

"_**Him,**_" Ichigo answered, pointing at Uryu. The newcomers looked at the accused, who was still trying to speak.

"It's not… It's not what you guys think…" Uryu stammered.

"Then what is it, _**Quincy**_?" Shuhei made sure to emphasize the end, expressing his condemnation of Ishida. While Hisagi began to slowly advance towards him, Uryu noticed that Hitsugaya was reaching for a rope sitting on a crate of supplies. He could tell what they planned on doing, and was about to make sure these Soul Reapers wouldn't even get a chance to do so.

"_**FUCK THIS!**_" Uryu yelled. He quickly shoved Hisagi to the ground before sprinting off from the campsite towards the forest.

"_**AFTER HIM!"**_ roared Shuhei, who was not too pleased to have been knocked down. Before he could stand up, someone put their hand on his shoulder.

Hisagi looked up at Ichigo, who was staring off in Uryu's direction.

"Stay here," Ichigo ordered, "I'll deal with this."

Gun in hand, Kurosaki ran towards the forest after his former friend. As he left, the others began to regroup from the brief conflict.

"I can't believe he just snapped like that," Nanao said to Kyoraku, "I mean, I knew he would, but not like _**that**_."

"I knew this was going to happen eventually, too" he responded, "All the signs were there. This world just got to him, made him lose it. It can happen to anyone, really... even one of us. Just imagine how many others out there lost it worse than him."

Rukia was comforting Orihime, who had fallen to her knees.

"It's going to be all right, Orihime," she soothed, "Ichigo will fix this."

"_What's happening to us?"_

"Huh?" Kuchiki could barely hear her friend's almost whisper of a voice.

"_What's happening to us, Rukia? It's never going to be the same again… It's never going to be normal. Just look at __**us."**_

Unknown to everyone in the camp, someone had ran off behind Ichigo.

And no one noticed the missing revolver that was once sitting by Chad's grave…

* * *

Jaitono couldn't run anymore.

Hell, he could barely remember why he was running in the first place.

One minute, he was lying in bed, when he heard a loud pounding on his front door. It turned out an angry mob was outside, wanting to tear him limb from limb for apparently killing his wife! People were yelling things like, "Murderer!", "Burn in Hell!", and other insults Jaitono couldn't care to hear. Not wanting to confront these people, he slipped out the back door of his house and just started running.

Now, here he was, hiding in an alleyway, exhausted, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on.

Then realization slapped him across the face.

_**Kingpin.**_

Jaitono remembered what the madman had done to Arinte, "pulling the strings" to get the poor man killed. He never thought it would happen to him, but here he was, at death's gate.

"_He's not getting' away with this…_" Jaitono rasped, his throat as dry as salt. Making sure he still had his knife, he began running towards the center of The Sanctuary, where Kingpin's home was located. It took him no more than five minutes to reach its locked door.

"_Dammit,_" Jaitono muttered, "_Gotta kick this fucker in…_"

"_**THERE HE IS! HE'S GOING AFTER KINGPIN!**_"

Jaitono turned his head around to see the angry mob coming at him from about a hundred feet away.

"FUCK!"

Using all the muscles in his body, he rammed the wooden door down with a shoulder block, falling inside the home. Jaitono looked around for his leader, but saw no one. However, he could hear footsteps coming from upstairs.

"Time to die, you son of a bitch," he breathed. With the angry mob approaching, Jaitono quickly got up and dashed up the stairs. Pulling the knife from his belt, he was ready to stab whoever stood in his way, Kingpin or not. Jaitono was barely on the second floor when he heard it:

*_CLICK!_*

His eyes widened in fear as he stared down the barrel of a sawed off shotgun. Its wielder was laughing sinisterly at Jaitono's misfortune.

"Don't worry, Jaitono," Kingpin said to his victim, "You won't be that hard to replace."

"_Why, Sethrin?"_ Jaitono asked desperately, _"Why did you do this to me?_ _**WHY?!"**_

"_**Because I can.**_"

*_**BANG!**_*

* * *

"_**Uryu, stop! STOP!"**_

Ichigo's voice echoed throughout the empty forest as he screamed at Ishida. It did not take him very long for him to catch up with the Quincy, for he had stopped and stood in a small clearing. Uryu quickly turned around, aiming his pistol at Kurosaki. Tears streamed from his eyes .

"_**WHAT! What do you want?!" **_ he bellowed, "_**You come here to kill me?! WELL!?"**_

"Uryu, wait!" Kurosaki put his hands up, "Be careful with that gun!"

"_**Go ahead, KILL ME! What do I have to live for now?!NOTHING!"**_

"Just – just put the gun down, please. Let's talk about this."

"_**NO! There's nothing to talk about! I have nothing, Ichigo, NOTHING! NO FRIENDS, NO FAMILY, NO FUCKING LIFE! This FUCKING world, Ichigo! THIS FUCKING WORLD! We were going to make it, but then you came and FUCKED IT UP! WE WERE GOING TO BE OKAY!"**_

"We still are, Uryu. Everything's going to be fine…"

"_**No, it won't! Don't you get that! We're dying here, Ichigo, DYING! All because of YOU!**_"

'_I didn't want to do this,' _Ichigo thought as he slowly reached for his holstered gun. Ishida must have seen his hand move, for he cocked his pistol.

"_**Don't even think about it, Kurosaki! Touch it and you die!**_"

"_**Dammit, Uryu, STOP THIS!**_" Ichigo was on the verge of crying now. "_**It doesn't have to be end this way!"**_

"_**THIS IS THE ONLY WAY!"**_

*BANG!*

* * *

Everyone back at the camp heard the gunshot. Dead silence fell over them all, none of them sure who had been hit by the bullet.

Then someone spoke:

"Where's Yuzu?"

* * *

Ichigo had closed his eyes before the gunshot. He wasn't expecting to open them again, but when he did, he was more than shocked.

Uryu was standing in the same spot, the gun lying on the ground in front of him. The Quincy was staring at Ichigo, eyes wide. Then, as he turned his head to the right, Ichigo saw it.

Two holes, the size of a bullet, had gone through Uryu's neck.

The entry wound came from the Ishida's right. Ichigo looked there to see if the one who fired the shot was still there.

And there she stood, trembling, with the gun still in her hand.

"Y-Yuzu?"

The little girl was looking at Uryu, who had fallen to his knees.

"_**Don't hurt my brother again!**_"

Yuzu raised the gun again and fired another shot, right through Ishida's forehead.

Uryu fell face first to the ground, dead.

Ichigo looked at his sister, who then turned to him and ran. Yuzu fell into his arms, choking on tears. She tried to speak, but could barely make out the words.

"_It's *sniff* not like killing the dead ones, Ichigo… It's not…"_

Ichigo held his sister tight, crying with her.

"_It never should be, Yuzu. It never should be…_"

* * *

_**In Memoriam:**_

_**Yasutora "Chad" Sado**_

_**Jaitono Kamanaga**_

_**Uryu Ishida**_

_**Even death comes in threes...**_

_Quote taken from "I'll Be Here" by Mushroomhead._


	10. Chapter 10 - New Horizons

_"Fear not for the future, __weep not for the past."_

* * *

No one knew why they mourned for him.

Uryu Ishida had just turned on them all, yet his death still hit hard. Ichigo was hurt more so than the others, for the Quincy had been probably his best friend outside of the Soul Society for the longest time; the sudden betrayal hurt worse than being stabbed in the gut with a rusted knife.

Orihime seemed more confused than hurt. The young woman still could not grasp why Uryu had lost his sanity and attacked Ichigo, but she knew that the Quincy would have never thought of doing what he did before this world existed.

The ones who did not know the Quincy so well, namely Kyoraku, Izuru and Hitsugaya, stood in silence out of respect. Rukia did so too, for in truth she never really knew Uryu, either.

Others were not so hurt, however. Hisagi and Nanao, who stood the farthest away from the grave, saw his death as a step towards a better future. It was not to say they were glad he died; Ishida's passing, and of how it came to be, was quite a shock to everybody, including them. Never in their wildest dreams would they have expected the docile, innocent Yuzu Kurosaki to have killed anything, especially a person, in her entire life.

No one expected there to be a zombie apocalypse either, so apparently everything was possible now.

"All right then," Shuhei said, breaking the silence and ending the funeral, "It's been long enough."

As the group departed towards their tents, Shunsui approached Ichigo and Orihime, who still stood above their friend's grave.

"What a day, huh?" the older man said, "How're you two holdin' up?"

"Fine, I guess," Ichigo answered, "It's just I never would have imagined this happening before all of this. Never would have thought he would've been one to snap like that… he just _**lost**_ it. Uryu was my friend… probably my _**best**_ friend. This world were in isn't to be taken lightly. If it can change someone like Uryu so drastically, we're in deeper than we thought."

"Yeah," Orihime sighed, "I just wish things would be normal again. No more sadness, no more tears… no more _**death**_. I don't like waking up every morning, afraid of who might die today."

"Don't we all?" Kyoraku took a quick sip from his canteen, "Well, I better be gettin' back to the R.V. Nanao wants me to fill it up before we trek out of here, and I don't like to anger my sweet little Nanao."

"We should probably go and check on Yuzu," Ichigo said, "She hasn't left our tent since we came back from the woods. Make sure to meet up with me before we leave, alright?"

"Will do, Ichigo."

* * *

Yuzu could remember the first time she ever killed something.

It was last year, during July, to be exact. She was cooking in the kitchen with her father, playing along with his overly energetic nature. They were making a cake for one of their patients in the clinic, whose birthday happened to be that exact day. The patient had been in a head-on collision with a drunk driver a few nights before. He walked away with only a minor concussion, something that Yuzu's father had treated many times before. It was the girl who came up with the idea to give him a birthday present; most patients were never in their clinic for as long as he was, so Yuzu figured a special patient deserves a special present.

"Now, Yuzu," her father said as he finished putting the icing on top of the cake, "Why don't you go give our birthday boy his gift while I head out into town."

"Okie-dokie, dad!"

Yuzu remembered how excited she was to give the injured man the cake all by herself, waiting until her father was quite a way down the street to assure her independence. She remembered dashing from the window to the counter to get the cake, ready to grab the delicacy and making the patient's day…

Until she saw the cockroach crawling towards it, that is.

The little girl wasn't really a fan of bugs, seeing the creepy crawlies as tiny little monsters that would crawl in her ears at night. Cockroaches were the ones she hated the most, even after spiders. Yuzu called them "The Walking Sick", after all the diseases they could possibly carry. However, she could never kill one herself, always asking her dad, Ichigo, or Karin to do the deed. It wasn't that she didn't want to touch it, more that she felt it deserved to live out its entire life, no matter how short it was.

But now, Yuzu was alone, with the bug approaching the cake.

Instinct kicked in, and she smashed it with a napkin.

She could remember every crunch of the cockroach's shell as she pushed down on it, hearing its silent, painful scream. Yuzu couldn't even look at the bug's squished form on the napkin as she tossed it into the garbage, not wanting to see the death she caused.

When her father returned home, he found Yuzu curled up against the counter crying, the cake still sitting on top, waiting to be delivered.

She vowed to herself on that day to never kill again.

Today, she broke that promise.

And now, Yuzu wondered why she was no longer crying.

She had killed someone, a person of all things, something she never imagined doing. But she did. And strangely, it felt **right**.

Yuzu knew why: she was defending her brother from the person who had inadvertently killed her sister and Chad.

"_He deserved to die for that_," she thought, "_Or maybe, perhaps, he deserved a second chance, to redeem himself for his actions…_"

Really, the girl didn't understand her own thoughts. They felt too grown up, too... mature? Was that the word?

"_Heck,_" she thought, "_Why am I thinking about this? I should be thinking about unicorns and girly stuff, not about if I should've killed Uryu or not!_"

Her thoughts were interrupted as her brother's voice came from outside the tent.

"Hey Yuzu, you in there? It's me and Orihime."

"Yeah, I am."

Ichigo unzipped the flap and crawled into the tent, with Orihime close behind. The three young people could barely fit in the tent sleeping, let alone kneeling inside.

"We're going to be moving out tonight, Yuzu," Orihime started, "How does that sound?"

"What do you mean?" Yuzu asked, "Are we switching tents?"

"No, not exactly," Ichigo answered, "We're _**all**_ moving. As in away from here, the camp. Everyone's leaving with us. We're going to find somewhere new, somewhere safer. Is that okay with you?"

"I guess so… As long as no one dies there. No one else is gonna die, right Ichigo?"

The girl's question stunned Ichigo. He turned to Orihime, who was feeling the same as him.

"Well, Yuzu…" Inoue stopped, trying to think of what to say, "We can't really promise you that won't happen…"

"Look, sis," Ichigo placed his hands on his little sister's shoulders, "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that nobody else dies. And if you ever want to talk about anything, like… _like what happened today_… I'll be here for you. You got that?"

"Got it, Ichigo," Yuzu said, a small smile on her face, "I love you, big brother."

Ichigo smiled back and kissed his sister on the forehead.

"Me too, Yuzu… Now, let's get all our stuff together so we can get away from this terrible place."

* * *

"They're waiting for you, sir."

Gentu's voice caught Kingpin's attention away from the polishing of his precious Snakebite, the sawed-off shotgun he had snuffed Jaitono with. The masked man enjoyed naming his weapons, made him feel more connected to the killing tools. Draco the dagger, Helix the chainsaw, Bruticus the sledgehammer; no matter how small it was, it had a name. His favorite, however, was perhaps the most sinister of them all.

Her name was Lilith.

Mounted on a rack above his bed, "she" was really nothing more than a baseball bat wrapped in barbwire, with razorblades embedded into its wooden frame. Kingpin never used "her" much, because whenever he did, things would get out of hand and very, _**very**_, messy. Hell, he couldn't even remember the last time he took her off the shelf and beat the living fuck out of someone with her. Kingpin saved her for those who deserved to die by "her", and not many have fit the bill recently. So, until then, Snakebite would have to do.

But now was not the time for killing. No, it was the time for deceiving the flock.

"They all out there?" Kingpin asked Gentu as he stood up from his desk.

"Yup, the whole town. They're getting' restless. Yellin' and bitchin' and shit."

"I'll go calm 'em down. Just come with me."

The masked man led his subordinate down the stairs and out the doors, where the citizens of The Sanctuary were crowded outside of their leader's house. The yelling of the crowd quickly died down as Kingpin raised his hand, ordering silence.

"My people," Kingpin announced, "Today, a great tragedy has occurred. For those of you who don't know, this morning, our trash collector, Mr. Eigo Dudai, discovered the body of Mrs. Issibie Kamanaga, the wife of Jaitono Kamanaga, my former right hand man, stowed inside a trash can right in front of her very home." The masked man began to walk down the steps, the crowd parting in the center giving him leeway to walk.

"Prior to today, Mrs. Kamanaga, as well as her husband, had not been seen by anyone for three days. We can assume that, in that duration, Mr. Kamanaga brutally murdered his wife, delivering a fatal gunshot wound to the head. I myself swore that I heard the sound of a firearm three nights ago, but thought nothing of it. If only…" the devious man paused in false sadness, to keep his flock hooked, "If only I had investigated that night, this tragedy would had never gone this far. You, my people, would not have had to turn into violent beasts and pursue the wretched murderer throughout our peaceful community, leading him into my humble abode where I engaged him and ended his trail of death and blood."

"But now, I promise you, our community's walls will not be penetrated by evil again. _**Never again!**_ From this day forward, we will go out and stop these sick bastards from causing chaos! We will no longer fight only against the walking dead! No, we will fight against _**all**_ that is evil in this world!" Kingpin ran back up the steps for the entire crowd, which was beginning to cheer, to see him.

"We will stand as _**one! We will save this world! We are…" **_He pulled Snakebite from its holster and raised it into the air.

"… _**THE SAVIORS!"**_

The crowd was roaring now, riled up by their leader's lies. Some began chanting the masked man's name, who basked in his deception-obtained glory. Gentu stepped towards his leader and spoke into his ear.

"Where you an actor before all this shit?"

Kingpin chuckled.

"Best damn one in all of NYC…"

* * *

The sun began to set as Rukia and Nanao finished packing (well, shoving) the rest of the group's supplies into the R.V. It had taken the whole afternoon for everyone to get their belongings in place; the main problem was fitting them all into the camper.

"Hey, somebody!" Rukia called while trying to push a rolled-up tent into the R.V's back compartment, "Can somebody help us get this thing in here?!"

"I knew we should have put this in first!" Nanao winced as he used all of his might to try and cram the shelter in. Luckily, Shuhei heard Rukia's call and came to help.

"_You two gotta be kiddin' me,"_ Hisagi muttered as he easily forced the tent into the R.V. "_Never have two women do a man's job…_"

"_**What did you just say?**_"

"Uhh… nothing, Nanao. Not a word…"

As Shuhei quickly made his escape, Rukia turned to take one last look at the campsite.

"Is it wrong that I'll miss this place?" she asked Nanao.

"Three people died here. So, yeah, probably."

"Well, aside from that. I mean, _**we lived here**_, Nanao. This place was like a home to all of us. Hell, three of our friends are buried here! And now, we're just leaving it behind."

"I understand what you're saying, Rukia. But don't you remember _**why**_ we're leaving here? It's _**dangerous**_. Out of all of us, I thought you would understand that."

"I do, I do! It's just-

Rukia's sentence was cut short by the loud rumbling of the R.V's engine.

"Come on, everybody!" Kyoraku called from inside the vehicle, "I wouldn't wanna have to sit here and waste all of this precious gas!"

Kuchiki sighed. Taking one last long look at the camp, she turned and went to board the R.V. Others were making their way towards it as well: Shuhei was first in line carrying only his crossbow, followed by Izuru closely behind. Hitsugaya walked hunched over, the weight of his supply-filled backpack pushing down on him. Orihime and Yuzu were coming in last, and were joined by Nanao and Rukia, the latter of whom noticed someone not present.

"Where's Ichigo?" she asked Inoue.

"He'll be coming soon. He said there was something he had to do."

* * *

As the others began to board the R.V, Ichigo stood alone over the grave of Uryu Ishida. There was something he had wanted to do earlier, but didn't feel comfortable doing so with the others around. Now by himself, Ichigo had the perfect opportunity to do so. Kneeling down in front of the grave, Ichigo spoke:

"I'm sorry, Uryu. I'm sorry that it had to end like this for you. You felt betrayed, broken, _**alone**_… even when you weren't. We could have fixed what happened between you and all of us. We could have made things _**right again**_… But you had to be _**too damn stubborn**_… And look at you now. You're _**dead**_. You didn't understand the one thing that's keeping all of us alive. It's not who's in charge, not where we survive… It's _**each other**_… I'm pretty sure you heard the saying, '_**United we stand, divided we fall,**_' right? Well, _**its damn true**_, Uryu. I'm going to live by that saying from now on, and I'm going to make sure everyone does, too. Not just because it's true, but because it's the only way to survive… We're leaving this camp now. I thought you might like to know that. None of us are going to forget this place… And none of us are going to forget _**you**_. Not _**this**_ you, but the _**real**_ you."

Ichigo reached into his pocket and pulled out a small medallion held by a string.

"Before we buried you, I took this, your Quincy cross. I'm going to keep this as a memento of the friendship we once had… It's something I _**never **_want to forget…"

"Come on, Ichigo!"

"I'm on my way, Orihime!"

Ichigo stood up and began to walk away, but stopped. He looked back at all three of the graves that had been dug since he arrived. He wiped away the tears beginning to form in his eyes.

"_Goodbye, Uryu… Chad… __**Karin**__… I'll miss you all…"_

Ichigo turned and never looked back as he ran to the R.V. Climbing onto the vehicle, he was met by Kyoraku, who was sitting in the driver's seat.

"_You alright?_" the former Captain asked him quietly.

"_Just get me the hell away from this place_," Kurosaki answered, "_And make it_ _**fast**_."

Shunsui nodded, and then announced to everyone inside the camper, "Alright everybody, buckle up! We're leaving!"

Pressing down on the gas, the R.V's engine roared, the large vehicle slowly beginning to move away from the campsite. Inside, Ichigo slid into the seat beside Orihime and Yuzu at the dining table near the back of the camper. He put his arm around Orihime and kissed the side of her head, which she then laid on his shoulder.

"_Do you think things will ever get better_?" Inoue whispered. Ichigo gazed out the window as the sun set over their old camp, thinking of all that had happened so far.

"_I hope so, Orihime… I hope so…._"

* * *

To an outsider, The Sanctuary would appear to be nothing more than a small community, with happy families, a tiny park, and a small lake for fishing.

To any of the prisoners kept in the underground chambers, however, it's a living hell.

While construction of the wall began, Kingpin discovered that the location of his future community was outfitted with an intricate, WWII bomb shelter built underneath the earth, with numerous chambers and hallways. Instead of telling his "sheep" of his discovery, Kingpin decided to keep its existence between him and his most trusted followers. Together with them, the madman made the choice to turn it into a place of confinement, where he and his inner circle would "punish" those who were deemed unruly, by means of torture and death.

The chambers had no lighting, pitch blackness always engulfing them. For one to navigate through its halls, a flashlight or torch was required. Vermin, mostly rats, scurried across the dampened floor, searching for any scraps or human remains. Sometimes, the furry little pests would become too great in number, and someone would have to go and exterminate some of them.

Today, it was Gentu's duty to do so.

For someone of his rank, a job as low as this would seem like an insult to him. Gentu actually enjoyed squashing the rats underneath his boots; the man enjoyed killing almost as much as his leader. However, the best part of Gentu's day was not the killing spree of vermin.

No, it was what the sole prisoner currently residing down there said to him.

What he said was of such importance that Gentu immediately went to retrieve his leader to inform him of the prisoner's words. Not even ten minutes after, Kingpin and his new second in command (recently promoted after the death of Jaitono) were walking down the dark corridors to the only occupied cell down there.

"Are you sure this fuck wasn't just pullin' shit on you, Gentu?" Kingpin snapped, his voice echoing in the darkness.

"I swear, sir! The people he described were the same exact ones Jaitono told ya about!"

"You better hope your right…"

The two men stopped in front of a locked door at the very end of the black hall.

"This is his cell, sir."

"Well, what the fuck you waitin' for, _**Christmas?**_ _**Open it up!"**_

"Y-yes, sorry, sir!"

Gentu quickly pulled the key ring from his pocket, and jammed the only key on it into the door's lock. Before the burly man could push the door open, Kingpin shoved his subordinate out of the way and forcefully kicked it in. The noise startled the prisoner inside, who had been tied to a chair sitting in the cell's center, a bag placed over his head. Stepping into the room, Kingpin knelt down in front of the blinded man, shining a flashlight into his covered face. He quickly pulled the cover from the prisoner's face.

"Now…" the masked man sneered, "What's this I hear about you knowin' the fucks my men encountered?"

The prisoner scoffed. "Heh, why should I tell you anything? You're the one who put me in this fucking hell."

*_**SNICKT**_!*

The knife was inches away from the prisoner's throat, its owner just dying to cut into the vulnerable flesh.

"I can slit your throat right now, _**you stubborn fuck**_. If you got nothin' to say, I won't hesitate to do so."

"Fine… I'll tell you everything. But you gotta do something for me."

"And why should I?"

"'_**Cause I know how to kill people.**_"

"Is that so? Seems we have something in common… If I was to take your request, what could you possibly want?"

"A gun, and a chance to kill the fucks I know about. Oh, and one more thing…"

The eyes of Kingpin met with those of the Sexta Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaques.

"_**Another fucking hand would be nice.**_"

* * *

The moon shone down on the abandoned highway, its light illuminating an R.V parked in front of an abandoned car blocking its path. The figures of Ichigo, Shuhei, Izuru and Hitsugaya were pushing on the latter, moving it towards the side of the road out of their path.

"Are we almost there?" Izuru asked, almost out of breath.

"Just – nngh – a little bit more!" Shuhei said as he gave a big push on the vehicle, "I think we're almost there!"

"Actually, I think we've gone far enough," Ichigo stated, "There should be enough room for Shunsui to drive through now."

"Good!" an exhausted Kira panted as he leaned against the car, "I don't think I could have lasted much longer!"

As the others began to rest, Hitsugaya noticed five figures slowly approaching in the distance.

"Uh, guys," he said, pulling the pistol from his pocket, "We got company!"

Catching his friends' attentions, they followed suit and drew their weapons, ready to fire. But as the figures came closer, the moonlight brought their details into view, revealing them to be of no threat. In fact, they were the exact opposite.

"_Holy shit…_" Ichigo breathed. Just like the others around him, he couldn't believe his eyes.

The first two figures were children, one with large pigtails, and the other with short spiky hair….

The third was a beautiful woman, with long hair and a very large bust….

The fourth had his hair tied back, giving it the appearance of a pineapple….

And the fifth donned a fedora on his head, with the sound of his clogs echoing down the highway. He was the first to speak, a smile on his face.

"Well, hello there, Mr. Kurosaki!"

* * *

_Quote by Percy Bysshe Shelly._


	11. Chapter 11 - Out of the Blue

_"Damnation's whore,_

_Is looking for a victim tonight..."_

* * *

"Urahara?"

Ichigo rubbed his eyes, making sure that the man standing before him, as well as the others in his proximity, was not an illusion. Indeed they were not; Kisuke Urahara, Renji Abarai, Rangiku Matsumoto, and young Jinta and Ururu were very much alive.

"CAPTAIN!"

Rangiku's voice shattered the silence. The beautiful lieutenant dashed towards the four men, her sights set on the youngest of them. In the blink of an eye, Hitsugaya went from standing on the ground into his former subordinate's arms in a massive bear hug, his face pushed into her cleavage.

"_Lucky bastard_…" Shuhei muttered, looking on with jealous eyes.

"Thank goodness you're alive, Captain!" Matsumoto squealed, "I thought you were dead!"

"Mmmph! _**MMPH**_!"

"What was that?" The woman loosened her grip on Toshiro, allowing him to breathe.

"You were suffocating me, Rangiku!"

"Oh…Sorry, Captain…" Hurt, Matsumoto was on the verge of tears. Toshiro realized his mistake, and soon corrected it.

"But, I will forgive you, for I am happy to see you too, Rangiku." The young man smiled at his lieutenant, something he rarely (or ever) did. As Matsumoto embraced him again, much gentler this time, her four traveling companions approached the group, with Urahara in the lead.

""What is it, Mr. Kurosaki", old 'Hat 'n Clogs' smirked while pulling out his trademark fan, opening it, "You really think _**I**_, the greatest mind in this world, wouldn't survive?"

"Yeah, Ichigo!" added Renji angrily. "What gives?!"

The pressure was building up on Kurosaki, who tried to answer. "No, no, no! Y-you guys got it all wrong! It's not that I thought you were dead! Well, I did, actually… But this, _**this**_ is such a surprise!"

"_**Ya got that right**_!" Jinta shouted, pointing his small finger towards Kurosaki's face, "_**We're the best in th- MMPH!**_" Renji quickly muffled the fired-up child.

"Be quiet, you little punk!" Abarai scolded, "You want those things to come get us?"

"Now now, Renji," Urahara smiled, "Don't be mean to my little friend, no matter how _**annoying**_ he may be." He turned to Ichigo, "I take it you aren't the only four living in that motor home, am I right?"

At that moment, the R.V's doors swung open, and out stepped Rukia brandishing a pistol, believing that all the commotion was caused by some threat. The small Soul Reaper soon dropped her weapon as she caught sight of her oldest friend standing with Ichigo.

"RENJI!"

Hearing the voice calling his name, Renji quickly shoved Jinta to the ground, only fueling the child's rage even more.

"RUKIA!"

Kuchiki jumped down from the vehicle, almost stumbling over her own feet as she ran towards Abarai. She met him in a running embrace, almost knocking the red headed man off his feet. She quickly pulled away and locked eyes with him, hers beginning to water.

"I thought you were dead…" Kuchiki said softly.

"Takes a lot to put me down, Rukia," answered Renji with a smile, "No way I was going to die without seeing you agai- AHH!"

Suddenly, Urahara appeared between the two friends, his smiling face inches away from Renji's.

"What the hell, Kisuke?!" Abarai yelled.

"While I hate to interrupt you happy reunion, all this commotion is probably attracting some of those walking stiffs. Maybe we all should head inside that R.V where it's safe and finish catching up there."

In a silent agreement, everyone began conjugating towards the motor home, off of the deserted highway and out of the threatening darkness.

* * *

Hours flew by inside the R.V as the Urahara and the other newcomers told their story of survival. Urahara recalled the events he experienced on the first few days of the epidemic, and how he, Yoruichi, Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu managed to escape the walker-invaded Karakura Town through its sewer system, in much the same way that Ichigo and Hitsugaya had done so. Hat 'n Clogs then went on to say that only hours after exiting the city, they were attacked by a horde of the undead, and that Tessai sacrificed himself to allow he, Yoruichi, and the children to reach the safety of a small house. The four of them had stayed there for weeks hiding from the dead, until three familiar faces arrived on the doorstep. Urahara didn't hesitate to let Renji, Rangiku, and Ikkaku in then, but almost regretted doing so when he found out Madarame had been bitten on the shoulder before arriving. It was only hours later that the 11th company warrior succumbed to his wound, and his reanimated corpse had to be put down. The gunshot from the execution attracted the undead to the house like flies to meat, and the group had to abandon their safe haven. After that, Kisuke's group roamed around, scavenging from rundown stores and finding places to stay for the nights, all leading up to today's encounter with Ichigo's group.

By the time Urahara finished the story, the day was in its early morning hours, and everyone except for Ichigo and Kyoraku had fallen asleep. The only things that kept the two up were questions and entertainment.

"What a story, Kisuke!" Shunsui exclaimed quietly, not wanting to wake anybody. "Though I am sad to hear about what happened to Tessai and Ikkaku. Oh, I remember the conversations me and Tessai used to have before you and he were banished. A shame I won't be able to have any more…."

"Huh," Urahara answered, "I never thought he was much of a talker. But I still miss his silence, all the same."

"Speaking of silence, what's up with that little girl in the pajamas? I haven't heard her say a word since she got here."

"You mean Ururu? Well, she was never a talker to begin with. Most we could ever get out of her was ten words at the most. But since this all started, she hasn't said a thing, let alone make a sound. All I've heard from her has been coughs and yawns. Tried talking to her, but the poor little thing just looked at the ground. It's sad, really."

Dead silence followed.

"Wait a minute," Ichigo asked, restarting the conversation, "What happened to Yoruichi?"

Urahara tilted his head. "Pardon?"

"Is Yoruichi alive?"

"Of course, Mr. Kurosaki."

"Then where is she?"

"Somewhere."

"Whaddya mean, _**somewhere**_? I thought you said she was with you?"

"She was."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Where is she **now?!**"

"Like I said, somewhere."

"You don't know?!"

"Oh calm down, Mr. Kurosaki. She's fine… _maybe_. I don't really know, actually. One night, she just got up and vanished. All she left was this." Urahara reached into the pocket of his green cloak and pulled out a tiny note, handing it to Ichigo, who read it aloud.

"_Dear, Kisuke," _he started,_ "I don't have much room to write about why I'm leaving, or the reasons behind it, so I'll just say goodbye. Hopefully we'll find each other again someday. Or, in realistic terms, I'll find you, 'cause I'm damn sure you'll never find me! Love, Yoruichi. P.S., Thanks for the human Gigai. Being stuck as a cat wouldn't get me very far at sea!"_

"Clever woman," said Kyoraku, "I didn't think she knew anything about sailing."

"She doesn't," Urahara took the note back from Ichigo, "But I trust she'll learn how to pretty quickly. It's not like she's going on a worldwide cruise or anything."

"Did you guys try and look for her?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, but we didn't even find a trail. We didn't expect to, really."

"Understandable," Shunsui yawned again, "She was the leader of the Stealth Force and all-

*THUMP*

Everyone stopped.

"What was that?" Ichigo turned to Urahara.

"Why are you looking at me, Mr. Kurosaki?"

"Cause every time you're around, something _**always**_ happens."

"Well, I wouldn't say _**always**_..."

*THUMP*

"May I suggest something?" Kyoraku was now holding Ichigo's hammer, presenting the weapon to its owner, "Instead of arguing, how about you go deal with our company outside?"

"Why do I have to do it?"

Shunsui smiled. "Well, first of all, you're the youngest. Secondly, Kisuke here and I haven't had any sleep all night. Us older folks need our beauty sleep."

"Oh, come on! Those aren't excuses!" Ichigo stood up quickly, gesturing to Urahara," Besides, Hat n' Clogs here isn't even tired."

"Well, now that you mention it, "Urahara yawned loudly, his act clearly a façade, "I am feelin' a little drowsy…"

*THUMP*

Kurosaki sighed.

"You guys suck."

Giving in, he snatched his hammer from the still smiling Kyoraku's hand and went over towards the door, opening it enough so that one good, solid kick could send it swinging hard into whatever stood on the other side. Stepping back, Ichigo shot his leg out into the door, which did indeed hit something. Ichigo lunged forward to bash in the skull of the walker lying in front of him on the road, but stopped midway after seeing that their "company" was not alone.

The sound of Ichigo slamming the door shut with all his might awakened everyone who had been sleeping in the R.V. Those who were asleep in the front of the camper around Ichigo, Kisuke, and Shunsui shot up from out of their covers or sleeping bags, while those whose beds were located in the back room, which was blocked off by a curtain, slowly made their way to the front.

"What the hell's goin' on?" Renji asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Is everything alright?" Orihime followed. Yuzu was beside her, holding a blanket and half asleep.

"Better have a pretty damn good reason to wake me up, Kurosaki," Shuhei growled. A light sleeper, this was the first night Hisagi had been able to rest other than being on his usual guard duty.

Ichigo stepped over to the window adjacent to the door and pulled back the curtains. "See for yourself."

Shuhei peered out through the glass, others following in suit. The sight of what lie on the outside immediately erased their drowsiness.

"Oh, _**shit**_," Hisagi breathed.

Though the highway was still covered in pitch blackness, everyone could see the twenty or so walkers shifting around outside, the silhouettes of their rotting bodies swaying back and forth. The lights inside the R.V. gleamed off their eyes, making them look like alligators floating in a moonlit swamp. Growls and rasping moans began to fill the air as one walker reached up and slammed its rotted, disfigured hand onto the window the group was watching from.

"FUCK!" Caught off guard, Shuhei jumped back into Rangiku's chest, breathing heavily. The woman couldn't help but giggle.

"Don't worry," she crooned playfully, patting him on the head, "I'll protect you."

Embarrassed, the former lieutenant stood up, regaining his tough-guy persona. "So," he said gruffly, "What's the plan?"

Nanao rolled her eyes. "_**Drive away**_, dipshit. What else?"

"Sounds good to me," Kyoraku said as he buckled himself into the driver's seat. "Take a seat everybody: This could get bumpy!"

Shunsui floored the gas pedal, jerking the camper and knocking mostly everyone to their feet. As the vehicle sped away from the walkers, those inside began to make it back to their feet. Ichigo helped Orihime and Yuzu up.

"Are you two alright?" he asked.

"What was out there?" Yuzu looked at her brother with tired eyes.

"Nothing to worry about, sis. Go back to bed and get some sleep."

"But-

"Come on, Yuzu," Inoue ushered, nudging her towards the back room, "Listen to your brother. You need your sleep." She turned to Ichigo. "Do you want me to stay?"

"No, go back with her. Keep her company. I'll be back there soo- _OOF_!"

The R.V. suddenly hit a bump in the road and lurched upwards. Ichigo was knocked into the side of a table, pain shooting up his side.

"Ichigo!" Inoue stood him back onto his feet.

Kurosaki quickly brushed off the pain. "I'm fine, just take Yuzu now!"

As Orihime took Yuzu away, Ichigo spoke to the others. "Alright, some of you get in the back now! We can't all stay up here, 'cause someone'll get hurt!"

"Come on, you heard 'em," Shuhei ordered, "Move it!" The tattooed lieutenant followed those he ordered into the back, leaving Ichigo, Rukia and Renji up front. Abarai, struggling to keep balanced in the rocking R.V., staggered over beside Ichigo.

"This is ridiculous!" Abarai shouted as the R.V. hit another bump.

"Shunsui!" Ichigo yelled at the driver, "Slow down!"

"Hold your horses, kid!" Kyoraku called back, "I ain't the best at driving this thing!"

"Besides," Urahara added, "That wouldn't be the best thing to do at this time. Not with _**that **_up ahead."

Hat 'n Clogs pointed towards the dip in the dark road ahead. The stomachs of everyone in the front dropped as hundreds of pairs of glowing eyes came into view at the bottom of the hill, their owners gathered together in a great mass of death and decay. Even more began to appear from the forest surrounding the road, the rasping moans growing louder and louder as the camper sped right towards them.

"Dammit," Renji cursed, "It's a _**herd!**_"

"A what?!" Last time Ichigo remembered, a herd was a large gathering of animals, not of bloodthirsty corpses.

"A _**herd**_, you idiot!" Renji yelled at him, "These things can gather together in the hundreds at times; this is exactly what drove my group out of our old home! It's probably the same exact one, seeing as we came from this way!"

Rukia held on tightly to the side of Urahara's seat while looking at the horde ahead. "Is it safe to drive through?" As she spoke, the camper was speeding down the hill, its driver unable to slow it down.

"We're about to find out!" Urahara grabbed hold of his fedora. "_**Brace yourselves!**_"

* * *

Far away from the perilous situation that the group's R.V was about to enter, the community known as the Sanctuary was enveloped in peaceful darkness. No lights shined on its roughly paved streets, not a soul travelling on them, for all where nestled away in their beds, sound asleep.

All except for Kingpin.

The man had been awake for the majority of the night, switching back and forth from sharpening his knives, swinging Lilith in silent, compressed rage or thinking of his troubled past. Nights like this were typical for him. Night terrors plagued him from time to time, and the madman hated feeling fear, feeling weakness. After hours of angst and anger, nature kicked in and he succumbed to drowsiness while sitting at his desk, his dagger Draco still grasped in his hand.

For once, he felt peace.

But not for long.

"_Wake up."_

Kingpin's eyes shot open from under his mask.

She was back.

He looked up from his desk, still tired but completely awake, and towards the chair across the room where she sat, smiling at him. She was dressed all in white, the color seemingly illuminating Kingpin's almost pitch black room. Her fine leather jacket, trimmed with faux fur, was zipped down halfway, exposing a fine amount of cleavage, while the short skirt she wore exposed almost everything underneath, her crossed legs hiding the rest. She brushed a strand of black hair from her face and smiled at the man behind the desk.

"Miss me?" she asked, eyeing him seductively.

"What do you want?" Kingpin hissed. He never liked when she toyed with him.

"Oh, come on, baby. You know why."

"Then get it done with."

"Nope," she stood up and walked over to the desk, sliding on top of it, her ass raised in the air, "We're gonna have some fun first."

"Not tonight. I need sleep. You damn well know what's goin' down tomorrow."

"Of course I do. But I know you aren't gonna find them."

"And so it begins…"

"You know just as well as I do that you're gonna fuck it up. They're not worth finding, anyway. Just stay here with me, forget it all. I'm all that you need."

"_**No, you're not!**_" Kingpin snarled at her. "How can I have just you, huh? No man can have just one thing! You know what _**HE**_ took from me! _**He**_ took my life, **he** took my home, **he took **_**everything! **_**He took-**"

At that, he stopped. He looked at the young woman sitting on his desk, gazing at her with sad eyes.

"_He took you__**…**_ All that I had was you, and he took it away from me... I won't let that happen again. I won't let someone take from me _**ever again**_! I won't give anybody _**a chance**_ to take from me! _**I'LL KILL THEM ALL!**_"

Kingpin slammed his fist down on the desk. The woman was unfazed by his rage, her expression still the same as when she first arrived.

"And then…" the man sat back down in his chair, "Then I'll have _**everything**_."

The woman turned herself on the desk to face Kingpin. "I thought **I** was you're everything."

"You _**were**_. You still _**are**_. I just need _**more**_."

She slid off the desk and onto Kingpin's lap. She wrapped her legs around his and stared deep into the eyes behind the mask, all while unzipping her jacket further down.

"I'll give you **more**," she whispered to him. Her touch sent shivers throughout his body, the sight of her body sending him into a brief moment of ecstasy and pleasure when…

_***BAM! BAM!***_

Kingpin's blood rushed back up to his head when he heard the pounding on the door.

"_What the fuck_…" he hissed, turning his head to the unopened door, "_**Who is it?!**_"

"Are you alright, boss?" the deep voice of Gentu asked, "I heard yelling."

"I'm fine, dumbass. What did I fucking tell you about coming unannounced?"

"Not to, sir. My apologies."

"You're damn right. Now get the fuck out and go home. Go sleep, play cards, jerk off, I don't care what it is, _**just stay the fuck away from me!**_"

"Yes, sir. Good night, sir."

Kingpin waited until the sound of Gentu's heavy footsteps disappeared before turning back to the woman. "Now, where were we-"

But she was gone.

He frantically looked around the room for her, but her presence was gone.

Kingpin sighed, and stayed quiet for a few minutes, his mind engulfed by thoughts of her. Then, almost as if under a spell, he stood up and grabbed Lilith off her mantle.

And he swung the bloodied bat again, and again, and again, and again…

* * *

_***KROOM!***_

The R.V slammed into the herd at full force. The blackened blood of the unlucky walkers in front ejaculated onto the window, their limbs lodged into the front grill. Bodies were crushed under the weight of the vehicle's tires, the heads of the monsters popping like overinflated balloons. Thumps created by walkers clawing and pounding the outer exterior echoed throughout the inside of the camper.

Inside, those in the front compartment were rattled and thrown about into the walls as their transport struggled against the ocean of undead outside. Food, clothing and other items fell from the cupboards and onto the floor, only adding to the chaos. Amidst all of it, someone noticed one vital, very bad detail:

"_**WE'RE SLOWING DOWN!**_" Rukia yelled as she regained her balance by leaning against a wall.

"_**What?!**_" As Ichigo answered her, he noticed that she was indeed correct: the R.V. was quickly slowing down, meaning that it would soon be stuck in a sea of walkers with nowhere to go.

Renji, who in the chaos was slammed into the wall by the window, peered through the glass to see the horrible sight outside. Walkers were climbing over each other trying to reach the vehicle, limbs poking out between withering bodies. A chorus of moans pierced through the thick metal hide of the camper, almost drowning out the voices of those inside. But the worst part was that the majority of them were attacking the front of the vehicle, hindering its advancement.

"_**How the hell are we gonna get through this?!**_" Abarai yelled, "_**These things just don't stop coming!**_"

'_He's right,_' thought Ichigo, '_The only way we can get out is to clear a path by killing them, but the sound of the guns will only attract more! There's __**has to**__ be a way!_'

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Kurosaki saw the solution: A large red container was lying by the wall near Rukia's leg, most likely knocked from its place in a cupboard during the rickety impact with the herd. Inside of it swishing back and forth was a good five gallons of highly flammable gasoline.

"_**Rukia!**_" he pointed towards the container by the Soul Reaper's leg, "_**Toss that to me!**_"

"Huh?" Kuchiki looked down to where he was pointing, noticing the object for the first time. She quickly got ahold of it and slid it across the vehicle to Kurosaki. "_**What are you going to do with that?**_"

"_**You'll see!**_"

With the container in hand, Ichigo quickly made his way through the curtain leading to the back room. In it sat the others, some crowded by the windows viewing the undead sea, while others sat in their beds avoiding the sight outside.

"Ichigo!" Izuru was the first to notice him enter the room, "How's it going up there?"

"Not good," Kurosaki answered, "But I'm about to fix that. Shuhei!"

Hisagi, who was one of those looking out the window, turned towards the sound of his name being called. "Yeah?"

"I'm gonna need you for this. Get your crossbow."

Orihime looked at her love, noticeably worried, "What are you doing with that gasoline?"

Ichigo smirked. "Just gonna bring the heat to our _**friends**_ out there."

"Whoa, _**WHOA!**_" Nanao stood up in objection, "Do you know how hard it is to find gasoline?! We can't afford to waste that much!"

"What would _**you**_ rather do, Nanao: Live, or _**die?**_"

The lieutenant quickly shut her mouth, as Ichigo pushed open the ceiling hatch leading to the roof. The stench of rotting flesh instantly flew into the room.

"_**Fuck, that stinks!**_" Hisagi covered his nose and mouth with his hand, preventing the rancid air from entering and the contents of his stomach from exiting. Quietly enduring the stench (unlike his partner), Ichigo climbed up onto the roof, followed closely by Shuhei. From their position, the two could see the entire herd, in all its horrifying glory, surrounding the R.V.

"Holy shit…" From the inside, Ichigo couldn't see the herd in its whole, but now from a higher perspective, it went from being a deadly obstacle to something truly of nightmares. As the shapes of he and Hisagi moved slowly in front of the moon, extensions of the vehicle driving below them, the walkers below instantly saw the shapes of prey looming above them.

"They're looking at us, Ichigo!"

"Come on, let's do this before they _**all**_ notice us!"

"You still haven't explained _**what**_ we're going to do yet!"

"Just watch."

Without another word, Ichigo carefully walked up to the very front of the R.V., his feet ending up at the edge. Without looking down, he unscrewed the lid to the gasoline container. Then, gathering as much strength as he could, Ichigo made one big motion and sent all of the flammable liquid inside flying into the air, dousing a large group of walkers taking up at least fifty feet of space of the road ahead.

"That should do it…" Kurosaki pulled a small, shiny cigarette lighter from his pocket.

"Heh, I didn't know you smoked," Hisagi said once catching sight of the silver object.

"I don't. Took it off a walker I killed back during the attack at the camp, knew it'd be useful one day." Ichigo tossed the lighter to his partner. "Load and light up an arrow, and fire it on one of the ones covered in gasoline down there. Hopefully the flame will catch onto the other ones, too. The fire should char their bodies enough so the R.V can plow right through 'em."

Shuhei carefully placed a burning arrow into his crossbow. He went and knelt beside Ichigo, taking aim at the closest walker doused by the liquid. "Let's hope this works."

He pulled the trigger.

* * *

_A few moments earlier…._

In the front of the camper, Shunsui and Urahara, with Renji and Rukia standing behind them, watched as walkers pounded on the thick glass that made up the front window.

"Oh, boy," Kyoraku sighed, "These things are getting feisty."

"I wouldn't say that," Urahara was fanning himself, his feet propped up on the dashboard. "It's more they just want to devour our flesh."

Suddenly, some of the walkers were seemingly drenched in liquid.

"What was that?" Renji asked.

"The gasoline I gave Ichigo, dummy," Rukia answered smartly, "What else would it be?"

"Hey, you don't need to be smart about it! It ain't my fault I didn't see you give it to him!"

"Well maybe if you paid attention more-"

As the two argued, Urahara and Shunsui looked at each other, both realizing what plan Ichigo had in mind.

"Uh…" Kisuke stopped fanning himself and turned around in his seat, Kyoraku doing the same. "You guys might want to look away from the window…"

Abarai did the opposite, turning his face directly at the glass.

"And why's tha-"

*_THUN_-_**WHOOOSH!***_

"_**AAAGH, MY EYES!**_"

* * *

The darkness outside was instantly filled with a bright, burning light, illuminating the black sky in an ominous orange glow.

As soon as the burning arrow pierced the walker's rotting skull, the flame instantly gained life, spreading all over the doused body. It grew more intense as the beast fell back onto the one limping behind it, catching it on fire as well. In mere moments the chain reaction created a line of flames, an inferno of burning corpses leading the way to safety.

"_**Shit**_," Hisagi smirked, "That actually worked."

"We're not in the clear yet," Ichigo said, "Now we just gotta get out of here. Let's get back inside-"

A large flame shot up from the inferno, inches away from Kurosaki and Shuhei's faces.

"Like right now!"

* * *

Ichigo was the first to drop through the hatch into the back room of the camper, with Shuhei coming through seconds later and pulling it shut. The former was met with a hug by Orihime.

"You okay?" she asked.

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah. As a matter of fact, we _**all**_ are. Shuhei, go tell Kyoraku it's safe to drive ahead through the burning walkers."

"Will do." Hisagi exited through the curtains, only for Rukia and a half-blinded Renji to enter.

"Hey, what's the big idea with not warning us about those giant ass flames you made?" Abarai snapped, rubbing his eyes.

"There wasn't enough time to explain," Ichigo said as the R.V. shifted forward, once again in full motion, "And besides, weren't you ever told _**not**_ to stare at fire?"

"Apparently not," Rukia smirked.

"Oh, shut up."

While the two old friends began to bicker, Ichigo plopped down onto one of the beds, the same one his sister Yuzu was kneeling on. She crawled over and placed one of her hands on his.

"_You're okay, right?_" the little girl said quietly.

Ichigo smiled. "How many times do I have to say it? I'm fine, Yuzu. Don't worry so much about me."

"_But I can't help it, Ichigo! You're all that I have now that Karin's-_"

Yuzu stopped. It was the first time she had said her sister's name since the night of her death. Memories flew through her mind, of how they used to play together, of the secrets they shared, of how one of them died…

It was too much for the little girl, and she broke down in tears, falling into her older brother's lap.

Holding back his tears to be strong for his sister, Ichigo pulled her close, stroking her hair. "Don't cry, Yuzu. _**Please**_, don't cry. Karin wouldn't want to see you like this._** I**_ can't stand to see you like this. Look at me." He raised his sister's head up, making sure they were face to face. "You have to be _**strong**_, Yuzu. If you're not, then…"

Ichigo hated having to say this, but it had to be said:

"Then how are you going to survive if _**I'm**_ not around?"

Yuzu looked at him in shock. "_What?_"

"You heard me. There's no certainty that I'm going to make it out alive, Yuzu. You need to learn to be strong, be _**brave**_. You can cry for those who died, but you can't let their deaths haunt you like this. Its time you've learned what it means to be _**mature**_. You know, acting like an adult. It'll take some time, but you need to start _**now**_… I'm not trying to be mean to you Yuzu.; I'm trying to _**help**_ you. Understand?"

The little girl sniffed. "_Y-yeah, I do._"

"You promise to start growing up?"

"_I promise, Ichigo_."

As the little girl wiped her eyes clean, Shuhei stuck his head through the curtain. "Good news, everybody. Kyoraku got us outta the herd. We're in the clear for now."

"So now where are we going to go?" asked Kira.

"We'll figure that out in the morning," Ichigo answered, "Shuhei, tell Kyoraku to drive a bit farther until he feels we're far enough away from that herd, and that Nanao can take over then so he can get some rest."

"Got it."

It didn't take very long for Hisagi to relay the news to the driver upfront, and by the time he returned to the back, almost everyone there was in their beds or sleeping bags falling asleep. Only Ichigo and Orihime remained awake, the former tucking his sister into her covers. The little girl's eyes were shut, drifting off into a deep sleep, but she could still hear the words of the two people sitting on her bed.

"I feel so bad for her," Orihime whispered, laying her head on Ichigo's shoulder, "She shouldn't have to go through this."

Kurosaki stared at Yuzu. "I know. The worst part is I can't do anything about it, other than keeping her safe."

"I heard what you said to her earlier, Ichigo. Do you think she can do it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Take care of herself if you're gone. I'm not even sure I'd be able to if you… you know."

Ichigo kissed her softly on the lips, and smiled. "Don't make me give you the speech, too. You'll be fine. Both of you. _**I promise.**_"

Yuzu turned onto her side, her back facing her brother and Orihime, and smiled for the first time in days. Her brother's words uplifted her spirits enough to feel just the slightest amount of hope, and she fell asleep with his last words echoing through her head.

* * *

The time had finally come.

The moon shone on ten trucks, their beds filled to the brim with machine guns, grenades, and bludgeoning weapons. They sat at the edge of The Sanctuary's gate, the drivers waiting for their leader to show. The drivers were a rough lot: soldiers, boxers, and part time criminals making up the ranks. But the worst of them approached from behind, carrying the deadliest weapon of all, with his right hand man beside him.

"Is this all of 'em?" Kingpin asked Gentu.

"Yes sir," the bigger man replied, "All but that blue haired guy. I still don't get why you don't want him to come with us."

"I don't trust that fucker yet. Besides, I promised him that he'd get his fun when we come back with the prisoners."

Kingpin brushed his way through the group of men in front of the gate and climbed up onto the hood of one of the trucks, his gaze examining all his followers below him.

"Alright, men!" The masked man sounded like a drill sergeant ordering new recruits. "You know what to do. Split into teams, two trucks each. You've been given their descriptions, and you've been told where to search. Find these fucks, and when you do, wait until _**I**_ arrive. Anyone touches a hair on 'em, you lose a hand. _**Got it?**_"

The entire group chanted in unison. _**"SIR, YES SIR!**_"

Kingpin smiled under his mask. His eyes shifted towards the buildings in the background, zooming in on his apartment. A slim figure stood in his window looking back at him, her eyes meeting his. She smiled at him, placing her hand on the window, and vanished instantly.

Kingpin had never seen her actually vanish before. He panicked. What did it mean? Was it a sign? Was he going to fail?

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He couldn't wait any longer. He had to kill these people _**now**_.

"_**Get in your trucks!**_" Kingpin raised the bloodied Lilith towards the men, which was enough to scare some of them into the vehicles instantly. He jumped off the hood and entered the truck's passenger side. Gentu entered and sat opposite of him.

"Which way, sir?"

Kingpin glared at the man. The fool still couldn't tell when he shouldn't speak to his leader. "_**Shut up and drive**_."

"Y-Yes, sir."

Kingpin watched as two men opened up The Sanctuary's rusted gates, giving access to the nightmarish world outside. He stared deep into the woods ahead. His prey was out there.

And all he had to do now was find them.

* * *

**In Memoriam:**

**Crushed Walkers**

**Scorched Walkers**

_**Charred zombie patties, anyone?**_

_Quote taken from "Serpentine" by Disturbed._


End file.
